


Child Prodigy

by Greensword101



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Zootopia (2016), ラブひな | Love Hina
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Crimes & Criminals, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, For Want of a Nail, Friendship, Gangs, Superheroes, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2018-10-30 16:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10880910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greensword101/pseuds/Greensword101
Summary: Being an 8 year old genius is hard enough without adding Kabuki men, terrorists, and a robot named Baymax into the mix... Fusion Fic





	1. Hiro Hamada: Bot Fighter

**Author's Note:**

> For a few months now, I was looking through BH6 fanart and I found this art depicting a younger!Hiro doing several different activities, and the last one on the bottom of the picture had him in his super-hero outfit. The first thing that came to mind was "What If Hiro Were Younger During The Story?"
> 
> And a week or so ago, I found this little post on Tumblr sharing my thoughts and thinking that it would have made the story a lot darker. I had been working on pieces of the story for almost 2 months now, just some scenes here and there, but the first chapter was the one that got the most work done on it.
> 
> So before I bore anyone, let me conclude that this will be an AU where everything stays the same except for Hiro's age. Please be warned that this story will be darker than the movie - it was pretty dark already with some of its themes - and will deal with some big issues as well as the story progresses.
> 
> I plan on avoiding the pitfalls of following every part of the story exactly the way it did because age really makes a difference. Don't expect anything to be exactly the same. I hope you enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a few months now, I was looking through BH6 fanart and I found this art depicting a younger!Hiro doing several different activities, and the last one on the bottom of the picture had him in his super-hero outfit. The first thing that came to mind was "What If Hiro Were Younger During The Story?"
> 
> And a week or so ago, I found this little post on Tumblr sharing my thoughts and thinking that it would have made the story a lot darker. I had been working on pieces of the story for almost 2 months now, just some scenes here and there, but the first chapter was the one that got the most work done on it.
> 
> So before I bore anyone, let me conclude that this will be an AU where everything stays the same except for Hiro's age. Please be warned that this story will be darker than the movie - it was pretty dark already with some of its themes - and will deal with some big issues as well as the story progresses. But it won't go in the direction that most BH6 fics seem to go that make them too depressing or disturbing to read.
> 
> Things that will NOT happen in this fic are: Rape, Incest, Torture, and Suicide.
> 
> This world that I am creating will go on a somewhat lighter path. These characters will face danger, some might not even make it, some might want to give up, but a happy ending is possible if the characters put their all into the journey.
> 
> I plan on avoiding the pitfalls of following every part of the story exactly the way it did because age really makes a difference. Don't expect anything to be exactly the same. I hope you enjoy!

Tonight was the night.

The air was cold and crisp, his breath visible in the dark. Not unusual for a late February evening…or as late as 8:00 could be.

He walked down the street with his hood up, trying to keep his ears warm. Hands shoved into his pockets, fingers curled up in an effort to fight the cold, twitching here and there. He could barely contain himself, his entire body coursed with energy. Streetlights were slowly being turned on, the buildings becoming darker and grayer, graffiti decorating the walls. A trolley screeched past, bringing few passengers inside. Was the nearest stop close to the meeting area this time?

How much further? A quick look at the GPS said at least two more city blocks. 1800 feet. 162.2 square feet. 21600 inches. Any distance that made it seem like he was getting there. He was so close, and it still felt like a journey away.

Noises began to echo down the sidewalk. The sounds of metal grinding against metal could be heard too. Jeers and boos could be made out, though the words were incomprehensible. If he was correct, then the GPS was just trying to get him to take the long way again. But if he wasn't, would his back-up plan keep him safe? He felt around in his pockets, feeling around for the two most important things he needed tonight.

He followed the noise until it the building to his left divided into two, leaving an opening in the middle. The noise was stronger now, he had to cover his ears.

A large crowd circled in the alley. He could squeeze past them without much difficulty, they ignored him, not seeing his size as something to worry about. It was possible that the crowd didn't even realize someone was trying to push through. When he made it through the thicket of legs, he could get a better look. There were still people in front of him, holding robots in their hands of different designs. One painted with flames. Another with wheels for hands and feet.

Another looked like a beach ball, large enough that its owner, a young woman, couldn't hold it. He liked that bot the best, it was white and orange all over and had a little head on top. Whatever it could do in a bot fight, it could clearly act on its own. It made beeping sounds that the three owners seemed to understand completely, and was even able to move around on its own without a remote control visible.

But the real action was in the center of the space made by the crowd. Two robots, one standing at two feet while the other was double its height, faced each other. The foot-tall robot was stout with a small head equipped with a samurai helmet and wielding a shield in one hand and razer-claws in the other. A quick look from behind the bot, seeing its owner, over six-feet tall and fat stretching out the jacket and sweatpants he was wearing. The man looked like he belonged in a sumo ring. Maybe he _was_ a sumo?

A giggle rumbled through his chest and escaped from his lips before a hand clamped over it. He had to be quiet. He didn't want anyone to notice him. Yet. Watching a fight happen was always good, it gave him a chance to figure out what his opponents were like.

Sumo's opponent was a teenaged girl with purple hair and wearing goggles. A smart idea, sparks could hit your eyes if you weren't careful. There wasn't much else to say. It was the bots he was focusing on, Sumo just looked more interesting, too, no offense to Goggle-Girl.

He could see her fingers jabbing rapidly at the buttons on her remote. Her robot, small and narrow with pincer hands, bobbed and weaved, striking and dodging the fat robot's blows. It struck a few times, knocking its opponent down. The fat robot picked itself and caught the pincer bot's leg, dragging it down and began spinning it around like a pinwheel.

As it poised for the killing blow, the fat robot caught the arm with one hand and struck its opponent with the other, the circular hand suddenly spiked, hacking at the helpless robot hitting it in an effortless attempt to escape. If it has a voice, he thought it might have screamed.

Only scrap metal remained where the smaller robot once stood.

A woman with an eye-patch holding a dish with money it in circled the 'arena.' She said. "And the winner by TOTAL. ANNIHILATION. …YAMA!"

Sumo, also known as Yama, but would still be called Sumo in his mind, raised a fist in triumph. He bared his teeth at the crowd, shoveling the money off the tray and into his jacket. "Anyone else want to go against Yama?"

No response.

There was a noise like something was being ripped apart for a moment. A quick look behind showed someone holding the body of a robot in one hand and the robot's head in another. It was saddening, to see someone quit before anything even happened. He saw the girl with the beach-ball robot stand in front of it protectively, as if someone would try taking it away from her.

Now was his chance!

"I-I'll try." His voice shook and came out squeaking. No one except for the Eye-Patch Lady seemed to hear him. He cleared his throat and said louder. "I'll give it a try. I have a robot."

He dug into his jacket and pulled out Megabot, made up of three parts, each with a circular center with sides extending out on each side. There was a smiley face painted on the center part of the piece on top.

Now people noticed him. Some were starting to whisper with each other, "What's a kid doing here?"

"Where are his parents?"

"That kid's crazy."

"Yama'll crush him."

Sumo bellowed a laugh, encouraging some of the audience to do so as well. The girl with the Beach Ball robot frowned and pulled out her phone. Probably sending a message onto PlaceBook about some little kid Bot-fighting. That's happened plenty of times before for the past few months, now.

Eye-Patch Lady glared at him. "Where are your parents, kid?"

"Back home." He lied. "But they know I'm here."

"Age?"

"Ten, but I look a lot younger." He had just turned eight three months after graduating high school. That got a few chuckles of disbelief.

Eye-Patch Lady continued frowning. Sumo frowned too.

"I don't deal with brats." Sumo said. "And it's a 'you pay to play' rule. No freebees. No exceptions."

"I have money." He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out several rolled-up wads of cash. Sumo's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He could almost hear the thoughts going through the older man's head: _The brat's serious?!_

"What's your name, little boy?" Sumo said as his frown curved into a large smile. He shuddered, hoping that Microbot would handle him too.

"H-Hiro." He said. "Hiro Hamada."

"Gutsy kid." Eye-Patch Lady muttered. She walked over to Hiro and held out the tray, huffing as she did so. This was no different from the other times he went through this. People would laugh, they might even coo at him when he brought out Megabot, and it took a little extra admission to take a part in the action. He had burst into tears the first time he was laughed at.

"Place the money here and don't cry if you lose."

"I won't." Hiro smiled. This was it. Sumo pulled several wads of cash out of his track jacket – he could see bare skin underneath, gross! – and placed it on the outstretched tray. Hiro stood on his tippy-toes and placed the money rolls onto the tray too – Eye-Patch Lady didn't bother trying to bring the tray low enough and even nearly snapped the lid over his fingers when he was adding a few extra coins – and made his way to the center of the 'arena'. There was a circular mat in front of him as well as one in front of Sumo.

"Last chance to walk out with your money, brat." Sumo said. He still had that sneer on his face.

"I'm good." Hiro shook his head. He looked at Sumo's robot and added. "Your robot's really cool. How'd you make it?"

Sumo glared at him. "You're not mocking Yama, are you?"

Hiro frowned. "No…I think it looks nice. I saw what it did with that other bot. How'd you make it?"

Sumo's face lightened up a little. That didn't make him seem any friendlier-looking, though. "Not much of an engineer, but money can work wonders. Never saw that thing being sold anywhere before."

"Megabot?" Hiro looked down at his creation and back at Sumo. "I made him."

"Awww." Sumo sneered. "Do you sleep in bed with that thing?"

"No…"

Eye-Patch Lady walked into the arena. "Fighters, ready your Bots!"

Hiro watched Sumo sit on his own mat with his legs crisscross and imitated the action. When Sumo placed his robot in front of him, Hiro put Megabot in front of him as well. A moment later, he pulled out the controller for Megabot, just two analog sticks on the small device…at the moment.

Eye-Patch Lady pulled out an ancient-looking umbrella – the kind that didn't look like could be useful in rain – and held it between the two Bots in the arena.

Sumo cracked his neck menacingly. Hiro cracked his knuckles, trying to get the blood flowing.

Eye-Patch Lady looked at the two of them and said. "Two Bots enter, one Bot le –"

"Oh, thank God, Hiro! There you are!" The girl with the beach ball-bot came running into the center of the arena and pulled Hiro into an embrace. Hiro automatically began struggling against the contact, kicking and scratching as best as he could.

"Help! Kidnapper!" He cried. No one came to his aid.

"You know this brat?" Eye-Patch Lady asked. Other voices started muttering among themselves in confusion, like frightened sheep.

"My brother." The girl spoke quickly. The beach-ball bot started beeping, as if it would confirm her words.

"Liar, she's lying!" Hiro yelled. He tugged at the girl, but she just gripped more tightly until his arm started to hurt.

Eye-Patch Lady didn't seem to hear him and continued speaking to the girl as she started dragging Hiro away from the arena. "I don't see a resemblance."

"I'm his step-sister." The girl replied. Her voice quivered a little.

"Are we Bot-fighting or not?!" Sumo bellowed. Was this guy used to having to wait for something? The crowd was starting to look annoyed too. Some of them were even waving their fists threateningly at the girl.

"No. This match is cancelled." The girl continued dragging Hiro away until several members of the crowd intercepted, blocking the way out. Hiro silently thanked them for intervening. Eye-Patch Lady walked in front of them. Beach-ball bot started wailing threateningly.

"Wanna tell us who you really are, missy?" Eye-Patch Lady asked. She smiled viciously. "We don't appreciate liars."

"I'm telling you the truth, I'm Hiro's older sister through marriage. Our brother's been worried sick and we've been looking all over for the tyke." Brother? This was starting to sound like that boring book about the orphan that went on and on and on. The girl even had a British accent!

Sumo sounded more annoyed now. "I'm not interested in some cock-and-bull story, I want –"

"Yes, yes, we all know you want to Bot-fight, but could you please be quiet and let the grown-ups talk?" The girl said dryly.

That proved to be the wrong thing to say.

A moment later, Hiro felt himself being separated from the girl and watched as she was pushed against a wall. Sumo was right in her face and looked like he was going to hit her.

"No one mocks Yama!" He bellowed. He glanced at some of the people in the crowd, the same ones that had stopped Hiro and the girl from leaving. "Teach her a lesson."

There was a loud beeping sound and then Hiro felt something roll past him and get in-between the girl and her would-be attackers.

"BB-8, don't!" The girl pleaded. "I can handle this."

Hiro felt something yank the hood of his jacket, choking him as he was dragged back to the arena. He was pushed back onto his mat and faced a glaring Sumo, ready to commit murder.

"Bot-fight. Now. No interruptions."

Alright, that wasn't what he was hoping for, but –finally! But it didn't feel that great to get to business without interruption. Sumo was starting to scare him a bit. He took one last look at the girl and stopped. Hiro took a deep breath.

"Want to make this interesting?" Hiro smiled politely. He was thankful that his voice wasn't trembling.

Sumo said in an aggravated voice. "What?"

"If I win, you tell your friends to let her go." Hiro pointed to the girl, baring her fists out for a fight. "But if you win…um…"

There was no way Sumo would be satisfied with just his money…

"I keep the robot." Sumo sneered, clearly enjoying his attempts at intimidation.

"I can always make another one." Hiro shrugged automatically. He began calculating how long it would take to make a second Megabot after all of those trials and errors. Six months, with Dashi sometimes giving a few pointers, was only enough to make Megabot move in one direction. He was starting to forget the small, but important details, but it wasn't something that his book couldn't help him out with.

"Not that pathetic thing!" Sumo snapped. Hiro glared indignantly. Sumo pointed at the beach-ball bot. "That one."

The beach-ball bot began beeping in alarm, as if it understood what was being said.

"Please, don't!" The girl was ignored. There was sounds of scuffling, fists being thrown and more grunts of pain were coming from the thugs than the girl.

"Deal." Hiro nodded. So much for his original plan. He reached for his remote and extended it. Sumo blinked in surprise.

Eye-Patch Lady was back in the center. She was starting to look impatient. "Two Bots enter…yadayadayda. GO!"

"Prepare to feel the wrath of Little Yama!" Sumo bellowed. Hiro shuddered. He didn't know why, but that name sounded…wrong!

Megabot sat limply, waiting for a command as Little Yama marched towards it.

"Megabot." Hiro grinned menacingly. "Destroy!"

His fingers began jamming at buttons and toggles, the smiley face on Megabot probably got replaced with a more menacing expression now if he was guessing the reactions correctly. No one ever laughed when the faces changed. Little Yama slammed its blade down, but Megabot already disassembled itself and began snaking across the concrete. One piece made its way up Little Yama's body while the others followed suit. Hiro wanted to show off a little more, but…he looked back at the girl, now being physically restrained again while the beach-ball bot was backed into a corner.

All three pieces reconnected and made a noose around Little Yama's neck, spinning around and around until it popped off. The arms still swung at Megabot wildly for a few moments until stopping, being pinned down by the separate pieces of Megabot and ripped out of the body in a few seconds. Hiro smiled as Megabot reassembled and leapt off Little Yama's 'corpse', stopping in front of Hiro before bowing and becoming lifeless once more.

There was no cheering, no protests, only silence. And then there was the sound of fists colliding with flesh and several _thuds!_

_Too bad for Little Yama._ Hiro thought smugly.

"A deal's a deal, Yama." Hiro smirked. He looked at the shocked Eye-Patch Lady and cleared his throat. She quickly rushed over to him and lowed the tray to his height. As Hiro scooped up his winnings into his jacket pocket, he felt someone rush up to him, prepared to pull him into an embrace. Hiro pushed away, looking up to see the girl blushing with embarrassment. The girl's mouth was gaping open. There were groans behind her, Hiro looked back and saw several of the men restraining her on the ground, clutching injured body parts. She had a bruise on her cheek, but looked fine overall. The beach ball bot, BB-8, rolled towards the two, bumping into Hiro a few times gently like it was trying to give him a hug. He gave the robot's head a few light pats in return, giggling when BB-8 beeped in response.

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times, several words making it out. "How – how did you – what the –"

"You're welcome." Hiro said begrudgingly. He looked the older girl in the eye as sternly as he could. "I just didn't want you to get hurt, now leave me alone before _he_ loses it."

He pointed to Sumo, still gaping in shock at the destruction of his "Little Yama."

"And why don't _you_ come home before _Aunt_ _Cass_ loses it?" A new voice spoke up in the silence.

Uh-oh!

Hiro turned in the direction of the voice and saw a tall figure; standing at least six feet tall, dressed in a light green jacket, black hair like Hiro's, brown eyes – not that Hiro could see, but he knew they were there – and wearing a frayed baseball cap on top of his head. He had just gotten off a moped with the kickstand keeping it up and made his way over to Hiro, glaring at him. Hiro shrunk back a little he didn't want Dashi to be mad at him.

"Are you okay? How did you get here? What did I tell you about Bot-fighting? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Dashi said angrily before taking a deep breath. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Hiro reluctantly shook his head.

The girl sighed with relief. She spoke rapidly now, her words jumbled together in her excitement. "Thank God, Tadashi, I didn't know how long it was going to take you, so I tried improvising and well, that just made things worse and then they both did the Bot-fight anyways and this is BB-8, by the way and I'm not boring you, am I?"

Dashi _knew_ her?!

He didn't get an answer, since Dashi was starting to look uncomfortable now. His eyes widened with worry. When Dashi finally spoke, it was in a frantic whisper.

"Rey, take Hiro and run. I'll catch up with you."

Hiro turned around and saw Sumo looking at them with a hateful look in his eyes, his teeth grinding loudly against one another, his face turning a nasty shade of purple and his hands twitching like he wanted to break something.

"No one beats Yama!" Sumo whispered harshly. He turned to the crowd. "GET THEM!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks, I downplayed some of Rey's badass moments to avoid the "Mary Sue" accusations on purpose. I love her as a character, so I will make sure that she is treated with dignity. She was able to take those guys down partially because of the larger numbers can be a bit of a disadvantage at times. The phrase "too many chefs spoil the soup" can apply to this scenario. They ended up hitting themselves a few times, too. Plus, Rey was faster.
> 
> Hiro, I would like to say, will be a bit of a brat at times because of his age. 8 year-olds aren't typically nice all the time. But he's still a decent kid, thanks to Tadashi and Aunt Cass. He demonstrated a sense of selfishness for a moment when he and Rey were pulled apart and he was more concerned with Bot-fighting, but it can be justified because he didn't know her. Still had enough decency to try helping her because that is what Tadashi would have done regardless.
> 
> Please review if you have questions or concerns. The next update will occur on the 15th. Thanks for reading!


	2. Burakumin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the failed update, everything from the lack of quiet time to the chapter itself got in the way. Thank God, I got the update in before May ended.

The glares they were all getting were downright murderous.

Hiro felt the girl, Rey, grab a hold of his arm and pull him down one of the alleyways – they were going the wrong way! – with the beach ball bot, BB8, rolling after them. Hiro turned around for a moment to see several of the thugs charging at Dashi. Rey continued tugging Hiro down the alleyway and succeeding, much to Hiro's surprise – did she work out or was he just that weak to begin with – with much determination. A loud BANG! echoed behind them, Rey yelping in fright, but she continued running/dragging Hiro along with her.

"Exit's that way!" Hiro pointed back as Rey all but carried him in the rush.

"They'll be blocking it and the police are on their way." Rey said in-between breaths.

"How do you know that?" Hiro asked, gasping for breath as he talked.

"I should because I called them and WHY AREN'T YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR BROTHER?!" Rey turned her head sharply to look at Hiro like he were some kind of criminal.

Hiro smiled, not startled at all by Rey's reaction, she clearly didn't know his brother like he did.. "Dashi's fine. That was one of his inventions. I think."

"WHAT?!"  
"Yeah, I think that was his…uh…I don't remember, but I know he did something."

"Or it could have been one of those thugs with a gun on them!"

Hiro opened his mouth in shock for a moment, it didn't occur to him that Dashi wouldn't be able to take care of himself. But he stopped thinking about it when he heard the roar of an engine behind them, his's grin returned and grew wider as Rey's mouth dropped in shock and relief. Dashi drove in front of them, the wheels screeching a little as he came to a stop.

"Get on!" He shouted.

"What did you do to them?!" Rey asked as Hiro climbed up behind Dashi.

Dashi shrugged. "Just a little flash bomb I made with a friend. In case something happened."

"Are they going to be alright?" Rey asked as she climbed onto the seat behind Hiro.

Dashi turned around for a moment to put a helmet on Hiro before revving the engine and starting up again. The speeding moped rang in Hiro's ears so loud, he wanted to cover them up with his hands if they weren't already trying to keep him from falling off the vehicle

"You didn't answer my question." Rey said in a loud voice.

"They'll be fine." Dashi said over the din. "It was just supposed to blind them long enough for the police to come and –"

"OH GOD! I FORGOT BB-8!" Rey cried out.

Hiro couldn't really see Dashi's face that well from right behind him, but he had a feeling that he was going to –

The moped swerved around and sped back from where they came. Hiro could see the punks they were running from getting closer, running into each other and into walls – he didn't want to go near them, he wanted to get _away_ from them! – but Dashi didn't slow down at all. He seemed to be speeding up a bit, the engine revving a little.

"Dashi, those guys are still there!" Hiro shouted.

"I can't leave without BB-8!" Rey protested. "The fat one wanted him specifically."

"We'll get him, don't worry." Dashi said in a reassuring voice.

"They're back there!" Hiro shouted, his heart starting to race a little. "We're gonna die!"

"Someone has to help." Dashi countered.

The moped started tilting to the right a bit, right in front of a plank leaning against a stack of blocks. Hiro wrapped his arms around Dashi's back tighter, Rey's arms winding up around his chest.

"Hang on!" Dashi shouted.

The moped went up the plank and into the air. Hiro gripped tighter and shut his eyes. Wind blew across his face and then gravity brought them all back down behind the thugs, the moped bouncing a few times against the ground as it sped up to BB-8, who had just zapped Sumo when he tried to grab it. Hiro saw Megabot in one of Sumo's fat hands and got an idea. His left arm unwound itself from Dashi's waist and reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the controller, pressing buttons as best as he could with one hand and watched as the fat man yelped as Megabot sprung to life and began whacking at his arm.

That distraction proved to be enough for BB-8 to roll away, shooting out a cable that attached itself to Dashi's moped. Everyone jerked from the sudden weight behind them, Dashi crying out in shock.

"Not what I had mind, but okay!"

"Take a left, we're almost at the exit." Rey said.

"But the police –" Hiro protested.

Sirens wailed in the distance, Rey groaning to herself. Hiro wanted so badly to say _I told you so_ but that wouldn't be helpful. He continued jamming at the buttons to his controller until he felt all three pieces of Megabot slink into his jacket.

"How did you do that?" Rey asked in shock.

"Science!" Hiro replied maniacally.

The sirens sounded closer now.

Dashi sighed. "We're going to have trouble explaining this one."

Hiro dug into his pockets with his free hand again and pulled up his back-up plan. It would have been worth using it on those jerks back there. One look at Dashi's face as he drove closer and closer to the sound of sirens reminded Hiro of the trouble he would be putting himself into. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, but –

"THIS IS OFFICER HOPPS, PURSUING CRIME BOSS YAMA YAMAMOTO! I AM CLOSING IN!"

"Damn it." Dashi cursed quietly.

Whoever that officer was, it must have caused confusion among the other officers, allowing the group to speed out of the alley before any police cars came into view.

Hiro let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in, thankful that they didn't end up in handcuffs.

Though he wouldn't put it past Dashi to place him under house arrest.

* * *

Everyone was quiet as the moped sped up the streets. Tadashi was relieved, it gave him time to think. The only time they stopped was to check up on the robot that Rey had brought along with them. It was an interesting design; the circular bottom made it more versatile in different environments, and it was clearly to take hits. Any fears that BB-8 had suffered damage from the escape were assured to be false.

"Durable little guy, huh?" Tadashi observed. "Even the toughest wheels created for trucks wear down overtime."

Rey shrugged. "Probably true, but I wouldn't make assumptions. You only just met him. Galileo didn't deduce the truth of Earth's gravity in one test, after all."

Him. Rey kept on insisting on that terminology, not that it was a problem. BB-8 did seem to come off being…boyish in personality and how it – _he_ – interacted with everyone. Then again, the robot could very well be female and the protective behaviors around Rey would take a whole level of meaning.

"I can't thank you enough for finding Hiro for me, Rey." Tadashi smiled as he looked at the girl.

Rey gave a small smile. "I call it luck."

"I don't." Tadashi shook his head. "I call it fate."

"Urgh!" Hiro grumbled. "Please don't talk like that, you sound stupid."

Tadashi looked at his little brother sharply. "You don't have much room to talk, mister 'I'm going Bot-fighting at night'."

"You _did_ sound melodramatic, Tadashi." Rey said. "It…just…don't try that again."

As if agreeing, BB-8 chirped a moment later.

"Great." Tadashi sighed. "Even the robot's against me."

"How do you two know each other?" Hiro asked.

"Long story." Tadashi said. "But we are _not_ talking about that right now, are we?"

"I didn't know who she was and thought I was being kidnapped!" Hiro snapped. "I want to know who she is."

Tadashi looked up at the sky, trying to clear his head. "Okay, I admit that she should have handled whatever she did better, but –"

Rey cut him off. "I better head off, now, actually. It's getting late, I have work in the morning, and there is so much to do."

Tadashi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? I could give you a ride."

"I'm sure you would." Hiro snickered. Tadashi glared at his little brother, he needed to figure out where Hiro was learning all of those inappropriate phrases from. If Aunt Cass was a fan of using soap bars for mouths, Tadashi didn't want to find out now.

"BB-8 and I can take care of ourselves just fine, don't worry." Rey began walking off, BB-8 rolling right behind her. "Home's close by. It was nice meeting you, Hiro…I think."

They both watched as Rey and BB-8 wandered out of sight. The next moment, Tadashi sighed and looked back at Hiro. He crouched down to eye-level. "Alright, I'm just going to be straight-forward with you. Are you okay?"

Hiro nodded slowly.

"Are you hurt?"

A quick shake of the head. Tadashi sighed in relief, letting the knot in his stomach loosen a little. Both brothers were content in silence for a moment. And then Tadashi rapped Hiro on the head twice.

"Then what were you thinking?! Knucklehead!" Tadashi snapped. Hiro flinched and massaged his head. "I come home from classes two hours ago and I'm up in our bedroom looking for you, 'cause I thought you were bored and I find that you aren't there at all. Then I ask Aunt Cass if she saw you, and big surprise when she tells me she thought you were upstairs."

Hiro's face blanched. Tadashi grimaced a little, he didn't like lecturing his little brother. _I don't like him acting like he's on top of the world either with that attitude of his._

He continued. "She was so focused on getting ready for Beat Poetry Night that she didn't notice and then I had to play it off like I was playing hide and seek with you and tell her that we both might be out for a little bit afterwards. I didn't want her to have a panic attack."

He added the last part when Hiro started staring blankly at him.

"I text my friends and ask them to keep a lookout and then I get a text from Rey-"

"WHO IS SHE?" Hiro shouted in frustration. "I don't know that girl and you keep talking about her like she's your girlfriend or something!"

Tadashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "A friend. Just. A friend. She works at the mechanical shop when I need to get repairs done on my moped when I can't fix it myself and that is not the point of this discussion! As I was saying – "

"She texted you telling you were I was, tried getting me out of the bot-fight and almost got beat up for her troubles." Hiro rolled his eyes. "That fat guy, Yama, really wanted that robot she brought with her."

"Unbelievable." Tadashi sighed. "Hiro, I was worried sick and it is dark out. Who knows what could have happened –"

"Kidnapping, getting run over by a car, mugging, being stalked, having someone offer me candy in a van, I _know_ Dashi, but I had a back-up plan." Hiro listed off with his fingers nonchalantly and pulled out a small sphere from his pocket.

Tadashi's eyes widened. "What is that? Is that a bomb?!"

"You used one earlier!"

"A flash bomb and it wasn't supposed to hurt anyone."

"It's not a bomb!" Hiro protested. "It makes a really loud sound when it breaks."

Both were silent.

"Hiro." Tadashi began slowly. "I don't know how you made it – and I don't want to know with _what_ – but that could cause major damage. Burst eardrums, for instance."

Hiro was silent.

"It's February and you're spending your time doing stuff like that?! Bot-fighting's illegal!"

"No, betting is."

"You know what I mean." Tadashi said sharply. "Of all the things you could be doing with your time and _this_ is how you spend it?! Why aren't you using your brain for something else?"

"I did." Hiro shrugged. "I graduated high school and I haven't even reached puberty yet, that's something for the books. Now I have all the time in the world."

"Education doesn't have to end at high school, you know." Tadashi said, tempted to sound more encouraging, but knowing his little brother, there was no chance that he wouldn't see through the act.

"Thomas Edison never finished high school." Hiro countered.

"I don't have a high opinion of that man." Tadashi crossed his arms. It was always a sore spot for him, hearing about him. Hiro looked to Edison with high regard, sometimes quoting him and even performing experiments the same way Edison would too. Both also had quirks; Hiro asked a lot of insensitive questions sometimes, didn't talk to peers his age, and kept some odd habits, one of them was designing robots. "That man was a crook and a liar."

There was no way he would let his little brother turn out like _that_ man.

"Just because he stole _one_ patent –" Hiro began.

" _One?!_ "

"Edison was smart and didn't need school." Hiro threw up his hands in frustration.

"Well, back then, there was no such thing as Bot-fighting." Tadashi glared at him.

"I don't want to go to college, Dashi, I keep telling you that!"

Tadashi took a deep breath and said. "Why not? You could learn so much."

"Yeah." Hiro scoffed. "Stuff _I_ already know. Besides, it's expensive."

"Well, with your brain, you could get a scholarship –"

"No." Hiro crossed his arms in finality.

"But you loved school." Tadashi insisted.

"Yeah." Hiro rolled his eyes. " _Loved_."

Tadashi bit his lip. There was no way they were going to agree to anything. Same old argument. He would give anything just to see that spark of passion he used to see in his little brother return, even if it was just for a moment. He could do so much more than Tadashi ever could and yet, he was wasting his potential. Tadashi certainly wouldn't be like that if he had Hiro's brains. "Let's get back before Aunt Cass gets worried."

Hiro rolled his eyes and got onto the moped when Tadashi settled himself into the driver's seat.

"We're not done with this conversation, young man." Tadashi looked back at Hiro once before starting up the engine. The moped started moving, slowly gaining speed as Tadashi pressed the gas pedal lightly.

"Of course, we aren't, _Mom_." Hiro huffed.

 _Yeesh, that was harsh, even for him._ Tadashi thought bitterly. He gripped tightly on the handles and drove off.

* * *

The truck rumbled, rattling along bumps and cracks. They waited, sitting in silence. One figure looked at the person to their left, their face hidden behind a mask. Orders were given by their superiors to be prepared and on the alert. Resting in each lap was a large gun, new and untested. Newest shipments had come in the day prior, fresh off the black market.

The figure looked at its structure; sleek and narrow like a rifle, but the length of a crossbow. A small scope was attached to the black and white weapon, useful for long distance.

It felt odd in his grasp, like it would explode in his face. No, something different. It brought a sense of confusion and bewilderment. Something new that would definitely throw off the balance in power at the moment.

The first time was always going to be difficult, awkward, sloppy, unrefined. So, this shouldn't be any different. His big chance and he wouldn't let it slip through his fingers. He wanted to talk, about the task, about anything, something to put him at ease.

No one spoke, another order was to remain silent. Nothing new about this, standard protocol. It almost felt like being in an army.

Radio static filled the air a moment later. Then a voice broke through.

"Hellraiser to Alpha Squad, prepare for deployment."

Everyone became tense now, clenching their guns tightly. They were almost at their destination now.

"Remember the mission: find the target and his droid. You cannot let either of them out of your sight."

"For Starkiller." Everyone chanted quietly.

The truck stopped and the back opened up. Everyone stood up from their spots and marched out in formation. Moments later, the air was filled with the mixture of gun-shots and screams.

* * *

Hiro remained quiet for the rest of the drive back, checking more than once on Megabot in his jacket pocket. Dashi refused to say anything else as they drove, preferring to keep his gaze straightforward on the road. Which was a good thing, since he was driving. He didn't _want_ to go to some stupid place where he'll just know everything before the teacher tells them about it. The closest thing he had to a challenge was when he started junior year when he was six. After several months of being bounced through grades and getting strange looks from the other students. It wasn't his fault that they couldn't teach him stuff! Senior year was embarrassing to think about, Aunt Cass wouldn't stop cooing over him dressed in that graduation robe and taking photos. Dashi didn't help that much, he was trying to suppress giggles all the while.

The meal afterwards was nice, though.

Dashi began slowing down the moped and Hiro knew that they were probably home now. He looked up and saw the Lucky Café sign, with a wooden carving of a cat sitting several feet away from it on the rafters, gazing at all with a lazy look of disinterest. The entrance had banners nailed above it, written in kanji, a typical sight in SanFransokyo. Above the café itself was home; two floors all to themselves, with the attic acting as Dashi and Hiro's bedroom. Aunt Cass slept on the "first" floor with their cat, Mochi.

Hiro looked at one of the windows and sighed; Dashi was right, Beat Poetry Night was happening. What would have happened if they didn't get out of the alleyway before the police came? The lights were dimmed and the tables were shifted to one end of the room. It was packed with customers, several of them had sheets of paper in their hands.

The engine finally stopped, Hiro climbed off and started walking in when he felt the hood of his sweatshirt tug. He looked to see who it was pulling at it and looked away, Dashi's face glowered with disapproval.

"Wait here." Dashi ordered. He began pushing the moped, going towards the garage in the back on the building. Hiro sighed and pulled out Megabot, rubbing at the smiley face. The sticker was fine, no signs of wearing down or losing any of its stickiness. He walked over to the bench outside the café and sat down.

He didn't want Dashi to come after him like that, but Hiro could take care of himself. It wasn't like that fat Sumo was going to beat him up…he felt a bit sorry for that girl, Rey, for getting on his bad side. An image of that Yama guy wearing nothing but a diaper and banging his hands on the floor popped into his head, making Hiro break into giggles. That _had_ to be the explanation.

A bell jingled and Hiro looked to see his Aunt Cass standing at the doorway. She had plumb legs but a slimmer upper body, brown hair ending loosely at the back of her neck. Aunt Cass still had her apron on over her black tee, flour coated the bottom half of it. Around her neck was a necklace with a single, black pendant. Dashi said that it used to be their mother's.

"Hiro!" She beamed. "There you are. Tadashi said that you two were hanging out. Just tell me what you're doing the next time you head out."

Hiro nodded. If Dashi was going to talk to her later, then that was going to happen.

"Yeah, for a genius, he can be a big knucklehead." Dashi came into view, the moped out of his possession. He had a small smile on his face. "Sorry we're late, Aunt Cass."

"Don't worry." Aunt Cass said. "You're just in time for this really good poem Mr. Benson wrote up; I swear, he keeps getting better and better."

"Well, practice makes perfect. We gotta go upstairs, clean up a little bit." Hiro noticed flecks of salt on Dashi's forehead, probably from sweating. How long had he been looking for him?

"Alright, but at least come down for one poem. We got a great line-up tonight. I think there're a few pastries left, if either of you are hungry."

"Noted." Dashi nodded before he gently pushed Hiro inside.

"…I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked…" Up front holding a microphone was a large looking man with red hair, red hair covering his head and face. Hiro never got his name, but he knew that he was a common patron at the Lucky Cat Café.

There were never that many donuts when he came.

Mrs. Parker was sitting up front, munching on a tiger claw and sipping tea. Hiro could barely make out the scribbles on the sheets of lined paper she had out, what poem would she be trying to get published this time?

Dashi gently pushed him through the room, chatting quietly with Aunt Cass about who was reading what. When his older brother had his back turned, Hiro slipped two thirds of his winnings from tonight into the tip jar.

He heard someone clear their throat and turned around to look at Dashi's frown returning.

Hiro shrugged helplessly while his brother rolled his eyes and frog-marched him upstairs. Two flights of stairs later, and they were both in their bedroom on the top floor. It was only one room, with a shoji screen acting as a wall for the brothers. Where Hiro's side of the room was messy and unkempt, Dashi's was neat and organized. There was a space in the middle of the room that was referred to as No Man's Land, a space that Hiro and Dashi shared, with two bean bag cushions for them to sit on.

Dashi pointed to Hiro's bed, and the young boy walked over to it slowly, like a man on death row. When Hiro sat down, Dashi began talking again.

"This is the third time this month I caught you Bot-fighting, Hiro. Do you have any idea how much danger you're putting yourself in?"

"I can take care of myself." Hiro grumbled quietly.

"You could have fooled me." Dashi said with an edge in his voice. "What do you get out of this? Money?"

"Yeah." Hiro grinned. "It's kind of like a job."

"An _illegal_ job." Dashi insisted.

"I got at least fifteen-hundred tonight!"

Dashi's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "WHAT?!"

"One thousand-five hundred dollars." Hiro said, not understanding that his brother was shocked and not confused.

Dashi opened his mouth. And closed it. And opened it again. But no words came out. Hiro imagined someone behind his brother like a puppeteer, making Dashi say things he didn't want to say.

"….unbelievable…" Dashi muttered.

"Som thanks to my ingenious, Aunt Cass is one thousand dollars richer." Hiro said proudly.

"TADASHI! HIRO!"

Both brothers looked at the stairs and saw their Aunt running up holding a large wad of cash in her hands. Hiro felt his blood become cold.

"Aunt Cass, shouldn't you be watching the café?" Dashi asked.

"Naru….is….handling it." Aunt Cass wheezed. She panted for a few moments. "I…I found….this…this much….in the tip jar….someone explain it to me now!"

Hiro could feel Dashi looking at him and blushed.

"Hiro?!" Aunt Cass said, like a fish on dry land. "Where….where did you….get this?"

"Maybe someone was being nice?" Hiro suggested hopelessly.

Aunt Cass frowned at him. "No one is ever _that_ generous and I know it wasn't there a few minutes ago, so one of you better start talking, now!"

"Bot-fighting." Hiro mumbled at the same time that Dashi said, "Gambling."

They both looked at each other for a moment in surprise before looking away.

"Bot-fighting?!"

"….it's not illegal…" Hiro said weakly.

"You…were…Bot-fighting?! At this hour?!" Aunt Cass glared at Dashi. "You told me you were both playing hide and seek!"

"I didn't want to scare you." Dashi said.

"I'm scared now!" Aunt Cass's expression didn't soften. "What were you both thinking?! I didn't promise your mother that I would take care of you in case anything happened to her just so you two could get into illegal activities. Not in this household!"

Dashi opened his mouth in protest.

"Don't." Aunt Cas pointed her finger at him. "I don't want to hear any explanation for your actions. I am more than capable of making a living for the three of us and a cat. Let me handle finances in this household-"

"Dashi didn't Bot-fight, I did!" Hiro said loudly.

"Don't interrupt me, young man and-" Aunt Cass stopped talking as the words sunk in. "What?"

The way she said that one word sounded more dreadful than the rant that she was just giving Dashi several moments ago.

"What were you thinking, Hiro?!" Aunt Cass hissed. Hiro looked away. "I…that isn't something eight-year-olds should be doing! You could have gotten hurt or worse-"

"I already gave him the Riot Act, Aunt Cass, I was just finishing up just now." Dashi spoke up.

Aunt Cass took a few deep breaths and held up the money in her hand.

"This is the last time you are going Bot-fighting, do you understand me?"

Hiro nodded.

"I don't care if you put in a million dollars in the tip jar just to make me happy." Aunt Cass continued. "All I want…is for you to…to be safe and happy. You should be spending your time more productively than this."

She looked at Dashi with an apologetic expression on her face before she walked back downstairs slowly. Hiro noticed a plump cat, Mochi, waiting for Aunt Cass on the top step, and followed her down after giving what he thought was a look of disapproval to the brothers.

Dashi sighed. "This is what I wanted to avoid."

"I'm sorry." Hiro said quietly. He bit his lip, trying to keep that feeling from coming out.

"You should be telling that to Aunt Cass. You know how she gets when she stresses out."

Hiro nodded slowly. She makes a special batch of pastries of different varieties each week to deal with stress. Chocolate-covered donuts were commonly-made. No one but her was allowed to touch or eat them.

"Give me the rest of the winnings."

Hiro pulled out the remaining five-hundred dollars from his jacket and gave it to Dashi. He started pulling the covers over himself when Dashi cleared his throat again.

"And Megabot."

"No." Hiro whispered.

Dashi held out his hand patiently before Hiro begrudgingly withdrew the tiny robot from his jacket. Dashi cleared his throat one more time and Hiro handed over the controller as well.

"Night." Hiro whispered and pulled the covers over his body, ignoring the shoes that he left on.

"Hiro…I'm not mad at you. I was scared." Dashi said, but Hiro covered his ears. Dashi was lying, he was mad at Hiro. And so was Aunt Cass.

He felt more weight press down on his bed, but ignored it. A moment later, a hand was slowly rubbing circles into his back.

"I'm not punishing you because I want to." Dashi continued. "Mom and Dad would want you to be safe. It's dangerous to go out there and do those kinds of things."

Hiro ignored him. Then he felt himself being lifted up and opened his eyes. Dashi looked so tired now and pulled Hiro to his chest.

And then, Hiro started sobbing. He didn't want everyone mad at him. He wanted to do other things, too. But there wasn't anyone else like him. No eight-year olds were out of high school, they weren't even in middle school yet. Hiro just wanted…he didn't know…Bot-fighting, it helped. He was _doing_ something, and staying out of Aunt Cass's hair when she worked. He thought that he was the reason she ate out of stress, sometimes.

"Shhhh." Dashi whispered. "It's okay, Hiro. Let it out."

Hiro cried into Dashi's shoulder and clung to him tightly. Dashi started rocking him back and forth, the motion tiring Hiro a little. And then Dashi started singing.

_"Mori mo iyagaru, Bon kara saki-nya_

_Yuki mo chiratsuku-shi, Ko mo naku-shI"_

Hiro clenched his eyes shut, he knew the lyrics well. How many times was he sung to sleep with this tune?

_"Bon ga kita-tote, Nani ureshi-karo_

_Katabira wa nashi, Obi wa nashi"_

Dashi continued rocking him back and forth, his forehead pressing against Hiro's as he hummed. Slowly, he pulled off the blankets covering Hiro and gently tugged at one shoe, then the other.

_"Kono ko you naku, Mori wo ba ijiru_

_Mori mo ichi-nichi, Yaseru-yara"_

Hiro felt his jacket being removed before the blankets covered his body again. He opened his eyes to see Dashi's eyes closed, fully immersed in the song he was singing. Hiro felt his eyes close slowly, muttering an "I'm sorry" under his breath. Dashi planted a kiss on his forehead in reply and sang the last lyrics.

" _Hayo-mo yuki-taya, Kono zaisho koete_

_Mukou ni mieru wa, Oya no uchi_

_Mukou ni mieru wa, Oya no uchi_

How could something so sad be turned into something to help babies go to sleep, Hiro wondered. His grip on Dashi weakened, and he was gently placed back onto his bed. He felt a warm hand comb through his hair, drifting off to sleep after he heard his brother whisper.

"I love you, knucklehead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had several different ideas for it, and I wanted it to go past Tadashi and Hiro talking in their room, but I felt that it was appropriate to end the chapter off here, no other way to end it. Like I mentioned before, Hiro will be more bratty, only fair to warn you. I wanted the lullaby from Grave of The Fireflies instead, but I couldn't find the lyrics online. This lullaby, however, seems to be a bit more appropriate considering its content and combination with the scene itself.
> 
> Takeda Lullaby is the name of the piece I used, and tells the story of a girl away from her family working as a servant, singing this song to comfort herself. In the 1960s, the song went from being a tune that villagers (or outcasts, according to Japanese class system) within Kyoto and Osaka hamlets sang into a popular song that became a popular lullaby.
> 
> Next update will be June 7th, Wednesday. Several hints of the plot have been dropped, but I'm not saying what. I'll let you guys figure it out.


	3. Doubt and Other Concerns

Tadashi wiped down another table, catching falling crumbs into his outreaching hand as they were swept off the tabletop. Several feet away, Aunt Cass was reorganizing chairs back to their original position, returning the café to its former state.

After the little outburst from earlier, Aunt Cass was doing everything in her power to not even glance at her nephew, from what it looked like. Either out of embarrassment or smoldering frustration that she was lied to, Tadashi couldn’t figure it out.

Obviously, she wasn’t pleased that Tadashi had lied to her. In hindsight, Tadashi understood where she was coming from. It was no better than Hiro trying to lie his way into another Bot-fight. All he wanted was to avoid putting Aunt Cass out of her mind with worry and make sure the knucklehead didn’t do anything he shouldn’t be doing.

One of the workers, Naru, had stayed behind to help clean up after Beat Poetry Night. Her long red hair suited her fiery personality, though the two strands that stuck out her front also garnered the nickname “Mantis” from some of the more bitter customers. If it wasn’t for Aunt Cass, Tadashi wasn’t certain whether or not she would try accusing him of doing something inappropriate. When Hiro was around, she managed to keep the accusations to a minimum. Tadashi was almost tempted to make sure Hiro was around whenever he and Naru were in the same room, but if his little brother were smart enough to get out of high school a few months ago, it wouldn’t take long for him to realize that he was being used.

And after tonight, Tadashi didn’t want to make Hiro think that it would be his way of making things up to him. The only thing he could do was to forget about Bot-fighting and do something more productive with his time.

 _What would have happened if we got caught by the police?_ Tadashi thought. _Naru hasn’t worked here long enough to act as manager for Aunt Cass and I doubt she would be able to do a good job. Bet she’d scare away anyone who had to shave their face._

“So.” Naru spoke up. “How’s the little genius doing? You’re not teaching him bad habits, are you?”

She added this last part with an accusing glare, which Tadashi felt inclined to ignore.

However, Aunt Cass, who must have forgotten about Hiro in the midst of the rest of the event and cleaning up afterwards, was clearly listening to what Naru asked, sans the ‘bad habits’ accusation. So, there was an “Oh!” coming from her direction.

“Gosh, I forgot he didn’t have dinner.” Aunt Cass sighed. She looked at Tadashi for the first time since he came downstairs. “Neither of you came home in time for dinner, but I thought you would have grabbed something on the way back.”

“It’s fine, Aunt Cass.” Tadashi said with a small smile. “I’m not really hungry.”

A small rumble came from his stomach, and Tadashi blushed. Fortunately, Aunt Cass didn’t seem to notice and continued.

“I’ll bring something up for Hiro, he must be hungry.”

“He’s asleep, Aunt Cass.” Tadashi continued. “He had a pretty long day.”

“I’ll just bring up a plate in case he wakes up.” Aunt Cass said. “You two finish up here, I’ll be back.”

Naru waited until Aunt Cass had walked up the staircase before looking intently at Tadashi.

“So, what adventure did the famous Hamada Brothers go on this time?” Naru asked with a smile looked like it was plastered onto her face. Tadashi rolled his eyes, Naru had a nasty habit of bringing herself into conversations that didn’t need her and with people she didn’t have to concern herself with.

Though, it wasn’t a secret that Tadashi and Hiro were known in their areas of expertise, which originated in the same branch: inventing. Hiro wasn’t up to Tadashi’s level yet, but he took every opportunity he could to try outdoing his older brother.

Tadashi had a hard time sleeping for two weeks after the Rocket Cat fiasco. And the worst past? Aside from Mochi having a love for being in the air? The rocket boots that propelled the cat into the air in the first place had little holes for Mochi to extend his claws out of. Hiro had hidden them, so it was only a matter of when Rocket Cat would return to plant his big fat claws into Tadashi’s face when he was asleep again.

“It’s nothing that you should concern yourself with, Naru, just us being us.” _Still surprised I don’t have gray hairs after all those scares in the past, though._

“Oh really?” Naru said as she crossed her arms, her tone heavy with doubt. “Nothing I need to concern myself with. How do I know you aren’t teaching him to disrespect women?”

“Because we live with our Aunt, whom we love and respect dearly and have not treated any different.” Tadashi said in a dull voice. “And because Hiro is too young to be interested in girls, at the moment.”

“I know a lot of guys who try and get more than they bargain for.” Naru continued as though Tadashi hadn’t said a word. “Peeking underneath shirts, finding excuses to sneak into bathrooms, looking in places that they shouldn’t be. And this is before puberty.”

Tadashi sighed. “Naru, how many eight-year-old boys do you know that do those kinds of things?”

Naru opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out of her mouth was. “Well, um….”

Tadashi hid a triumphant smirk and wiped off another table. The silence lasted for a few moments, however.

“I meant to say _right_ before puberty, I wasn’t suggesting eight-year-olds do this.” Naru said as she waved her hands frantically.

“Do you talk like that around your…boyfriend?” Tadashi said the last bit with uncertainty. That was the wrong thing to say, as Naru instantly became red in the face.

“Don’t ask me those kinds of personal questions, that’s none of your concern!”

“You were just asking me about any habits I might be getting inside Hiro’s head.” Tadashi said calmly. “You don’t have any right to defend yourself.”

Naru opened her mouth as though she thought differently, but then took a deep breath and turned away. The silence continued for a few minutes before Naru spoke again in a quiet tone.

“I’m sorry. I had no right to say those things.”

Tadashi looked back at her and nodded when she met his eyes.

“Is…Hiro alright?” Naru asked tentatively.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Did he get hurt?” Naru’s voice grew more alarmed. “Did something happen to him?!”

“No!” Tadashi said quickly. Another thing that made Tadashi wary around Naru was her sudden changes in mood. One minute, she could be cheerful and pleasant, but become ready to strike someone at the smallest offense. Fortunately, she never struck anyone no matter how sorely tempted she appeared to be. But that didn’t make it any easier to be around her.

Tadashi said to Naru. “He didn’t get hurt, just let the matter drop, okay?”

“Alright…” Naru muttered quietly.

Aunt Cass came back downstairs while Naru and Tadashi looked away from one another, not bothering to look each other in the eye.

“Was Hiro awake?” Tadashi asked.

“No. I left the plate upstairs in case he woke up, though.” Aunt Cass went over to the countertop to collect tips from the tip jar. “Was everything alright? After…”

“I took away Megabot.” Tadashi said in a hushed voice, looking at Naru, daring her to listen in. Naru didn’t respond to the look and seemed to focus more intently on one table, muttering under breath that there were some stains on it that wouldn’t get off. “And the rest of his winnings.”

“Did you ground him?” Aunt Cass asked quietly.

Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck. “Not exactly…but I think taking away Megabot counts, though. He can’t go Bot-fighting without it. Or the controller.”

“What are you going to do with the money he got?” Aunt Cass asked.

Tadashi looked back at Naru, who was now at a table further away from them and even started playing music on her phone without ear-buds. No one was complaining.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.” Aunt Cass noticed how Tadashi kept looking back towards Naru with suspicion and closed her eyes in understanding.

“Let’s talk later.” Aunt Cass said, and the issue was dropped.

 Ten minutes later, the café was brought back to its original state and Naru clocked out, bidding Aunt Cass a goodnight and leaving. The moment that Naru was out of sight, Aunt Cass collapsed into one of the chairs and sighed.

“What a night.” Aunt Cass said, exhaustion creeping into her voice. She smiled. “Big turnout. If this keeps up, we might be able to make this place bigger.”

Tadashi returned the grin, he understood how hard it was for Aunt Cass to keep the place running by herself. Just the fact that they had hired someone outside of the family was a sign that business was going well. Even if it was Naru. She claimed that she was a lot worse a few years back, but Tadashi didn’t want to know what that meant.

“How long until you don’t have to spend an entire work day on your feet?” Tadashi asked.

Aunt Cass counted with her fingers and dropped them onto her lap. “I don’t know. Could be two years. Maybe it could be two months if this place were packed every day and the tips were generous. If business keeps up on days like this, then we’ll have extra money to get more workers around here.”

She frowned and muttered. “Then again, we’d have to add wages to our concerns. Who would be working hard? Who would be slacking off? The list keeps going.”

Tadashi knew that Aunt Cass was just talking to herself, the “we” part was inclusive only because she needed someone to talk to her. As much as he’d like to take the time to do a few shifts in the café, Aunt Cass insisted that his and Hiro’s education came first. He had made several reasonable arguments – in his mind – about how he could balance school and work effectively, but Aunt Cass would hear none of it.

The last time he brought up the idea of him working part-time to maintain Aunt Cass’s sanity turned out to be a bad time to even mention it. She took one look at the state of his hygiene and said that he couldn’t even take care of himself. This was just after he pulled an all-nighter back at the college, working on his biggest project yet. After that, however, Aunt Cass got it into her mind that Tadashi was frequently dealing with long-term projects and was afraid of how extra work would affect his health.

Hiro couldn’t help for the obvious reason; he was 8 and couldn’t apply for real jobs until he was fourteen. And then there was Bot-fighting, which Aunt Cass had just made clear was not the way to go. In the end, it all boiled down to one factor: pride. Pride was what made Aunt Cass from asking for more help from her nephews aside from chores, keeping their home upstairs tidy, and getting a good education. Cleaning up the café after the day was up wasn’t a problem, though.

There was the sound of something scraping along a tabletop, Tadashi turned and saw that Aunt Cass was currently munching on a chocolate-covered donut, with several other pastries from chocolate chip cookies to cinnamon rolls to a few rice cakes on top of a serving platter. Tadashi sighed.

 _She’s still thinking about earlier_. Tadashi thought.

Aunt Cass’s body sagged, like there was some weight on top of her pushing downwards. Her nails were unpolished and cut unevenly. There were parts of her fingertips that had torn flesh, the unintended wounds looking recent.

“I’m sorry.” Tadashi said. Aunt Cass looked up, a bit of donut sticking out of her mouth. “I wasn’t trying to worry you, and I doubt Hiro was, either.”

“Aunt Cass, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”

She sighed. “I haven’t been perfect. I wasn’t expecting ‘parenting’ to be on my bucket list, either. But…”

Aunt Cass bit into her donut and chewed on it for a few seconds, then swallowed.

“But…this was my train of thought more than five years ago.”

Tadashi bit his lip. He didn’t want to think about it that much, he was somewhat thankful Hiro was too young to remember what happened. It was also painful to hear Hiro say he didn’t know what their mom and dad would say, and in a careless tone, too.

“What have I been doing wrong, Tadashi?” Aunt Cass said quietly. Tadashi winced, it felt somewhat like an accusation. “I’ve…done the best that I could, and…you’re keeping secrets, Hiro is sneaking out the Bot-fight…do you think I’m that clueless?”

Tadashi forced himself to look directly into Aunt Cass’s eyes, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

“You’re not clueless.” For a moment, Tadashi thought that would have been lying, but reminded himself it wasn't the case. “You’ve been a great…”

 _Mother? Guardian?_ Tadashi thought. _Aunt Cass, she’s been great, but I don’t know how she’d feel if either of us saw her differently. Would she ever like being called ‘Mom’?_

Thankfully, Aunt Cass didn’t pick up on Tadashi’s hesitant tone and bit into the donut in her hand again, letting crumbs trail onto the table without much care.

“Maybe I should have read a book.” Aunt Cass said as if Tadashi weren’t in the room right then and there. “I don’t know…”

“Books can only help so much.” Tadashi said firmly. Aunt Cass jumped a little, remembering that her nephew was there. Tadashi continued. “Mom…”

He took a deep breath and spoke again, trying not to wince at the name. “Mom didn’t have _any_ books on parenting when she was pregnant with me. She had some on health and feeding, but she didn’t need one to tell her how to keep me in line. No one taught her to change a diaper, no one showed her how to give a five-year-old a timeout. She would have been so _proud_ of you, for going the extra mile.”

Tadashi reached across the table and placed a hand on Aunt Cass’ shoulder. He smiled. “Hiro and I haven’t screwed up that much, yet, have we?”

He received a smile in return. “No.”

Aunt Cass’ eyes narrowed a moment later. “But, what are we going to do about Hiro? I can’t keep an eye on him all day, not with the way business is going up and down.”

“I tried talking to him about college.” Tadashi said.

“He’s _eight!_ ” Aunt Cass said in an exasperated tone. “I’m not a boy genius, but I know it’s going to be a lot on him.”

“We don’t know that.” Tadashi insisted. “Hiro said senior year was _slightly_ entertaining. He just needs a challenge.”

“Okay, I can see you’re not going to think ahead.” Aunt Cass muttered quietly. She pulled out a large wad of cash that Tadashi recognized from earlier. “What are we going to do with this, though? Hand it to the police?”

Tadashi shook his head and stood up from the table. “No. _That_ would be a bit extreme. Hiro…he _did_ win it. On the other hand…”

He placed his hand under his chin. “Keeping all that money might encourage him to keep Bot-fighting…”

“We could donate it to a charity.” Aunt Cass said, finishing the last of her donut and picked up a cookie. “We wouldn’t be using it, but the money will go to a good cause. I think there was a drive earlier this week trying to get donations for victims of the Savage Epidemic. What do you think?”

Tadashi smiled. “I think that would work.”

Just then, a “meow” was heard. Tadashi and Aunt Cass looked to see Mochi walking up to Tadashi and began rubbing against his leg. The calico meowed in protest when he was picked up and placed onto the table.

“Aw, did you miss Momma, little Mochi?” Aunt Cass cooed at the cat as she stroked his fur. Mochi purred in response.

“I better get to bed.” Tadashi yawned. “We’ll figure how to deal with Hiro tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh.” Aunt Cass said blankly, nuzzling her nose against Mochi now. Mochi sniffed at the plate of sweets and began licking crumbs off the table.

Tadashi shook his head; he had just wasted a tired refrain for nothing. Hiro could go so far, if only he put his mind to it. If nothing was done soon, he was afraid that his little brother would end up biting more than he could chew if he continued with Bot-fighting.

He should have never helped Hiro make Megabot in the first place.

X

It was tense inside of the car. Neither of them spoke as they drove through the night. They were this close to catching one of the biggest crime lords in the city, and she messed it up. Judy looked out the window in the passenger’s seat and watched the nightlife unfold. Certainly different from Central Park, SanFransokyo was a culturally diverse as Central Park was wildlife oriented.

Her partner and mentor for the next two or so years of her life – _if I don’t lose my job first_ – Detective Idra Bogo, had a tight grip on the steering wheel and refused to look at her. And to think that her first training day would end in such a disaster, too…

_She walked into the small café, taking in the delicious smells of donuts, bread, and coffee coming from within the kitchen. Judy saw one of the chefs frying up bacon on a spread-out stovetop while another was balancing two large trays in her hand, each one containing multiple dishes on top._

_“Excuse me.” Judy walked up to the nearest waitress that was walking past her. “I’m looking for someone by the name of Bogo, he said to meet at this diner and to use his name when I got in. He mentioned that he came here frequently?”_

Oh sweet cheese and crackers, what am I thinking?! _Judy thought to herself_. I waltz in here and ask for someone that these people might not know? Way to show your detective skills, Hopps.

_To her relief and surprise, the waitress nodded and pointed to a bulky, dark-skinned man sitting in the far right-hand corner of the diner, a large newspaper in front of him. Judy smiled to the waitress in thanks and took a deep breath before walking towards her soon-to-be partner._

_“Ahem.” Judy cleared her throat when she got to the table. Bogo ignored her and continued reading the paper, taking a sip of the coffee to his left every few seconds._

_“Um, excuse me? Bogo? I’m Judy Hopps, your trainee and partner. You said to arrive at this place by 7:00 and I’m ten minutes early.”_

_She added the last part with a determined smile. The grin quickly fell off when Bogo pushed the paper down and looked at her with a small glare. She took minute notice of his facial features; a large but flat nose, wide cheekbones, brown eyes covered by glasses, and an intimidating demeaner that reminded Judy of her childhood bully back home. This was someone she might have to tread lightly around._

_Bogo took a deep breath and spoke in a deep, South African accent. “Hopps. Sit.”_

_Judy nodded quickly and took a seat opposite of Bogo. The same waitress that she saw earlier came up with a menu, but Judy waved her away with a smile._

_“Anything to drink, miss?” The waitress persisted. “Coffee? Water?”_

_“I’m good, I had bre-“_

_Bogo spoke calmly, picking up his newspaper and not looking at Judy. “Don’t be rude, Hopps, get something so you won’t be dragging your feet later today. Not stopping for lunch, so you better fill up.”_

_“It’s okay, sir. I had a big breakfast before I went out and-“_

_“Then kindly keep your mouth closed while I read and don’t disturb me.” Bogo went back to his newspaper. Judy looked back at the waitress, deciding to at least order some toast, when she saw that the woman was gone. Judy sighed and tapped her fingers lightly on the table. Bogo breathed through his nostrils deeply and Judy stopped._

Okay, I am definitely _not_ going to make him think less of me today. _Judy decided._ I’ll show him I’m capable.

_She looked around the room and watched the ongoing activity. Two men were sharing a plate, smiles on both their faces. A small family of three was sitting in a dining table much like the one Judy and Bogo were in, the father struggling to feed the infant, who kept moving their mouth away from the spoon. A group of college-aged students were sitting at the booth, eating in silence. All of these people had one thing in common; no one looked similar to the other. There were people with dark-skin like Bogo, pale complexion, different eyes, so many varieties that weren’t seen in Central Park. Here, segregation didn’t exist._

_Here, things were normal._

_“Would you kindly stop your fidgeting, Hopps? It’s making it difficult for me to read.” Bogo muttered._

_“Sorry, sir.”_

_“In fact.” Bogo placed the newspaper down. “Since you seem to have no other way to spend your time, entertain me.”_

_“W-what?”_

_“Tell me a joke, a story, anything you can think of.” Bogo said calmly. His eyes narrowed. “Since its distracting me, you might as well compensate by entertaining me.”_

_Judy’s ears burned with embarrassment. “Oh. Okay. Um…”_

What would be a good story to tell? Maybe I could tell him the joke about the sailor and the carrot….no, he probably wouldn’t understand the punchline. _Judy thought._

_“Well.” Judy began. “I’m sure you heard of my first big case?”_

_Bogo nodded slowly. “Hard to stay off the front pages with something that big.”_

_“Well.” Judy continued with a little more energy, taking Bogo’s calm tone as encouragement. “Not many people have heard me talk about this stakeout two years back. It didn’t make the papers, but it was so exciting and…”_

_“And?” Bogo asked._

_Judy stopped. “…actually, I don’t think it’s a good story.”_

_Bogo huffed. “Well, thank you, Miss Hopps, for wasting precious time with that realization. Do you see what I am holding?”_

_Judy looked at the newspaper and nodded._

_“_ This _.” Bogo said as he gestured the newspaper. “Is entertainment. It keeps me relevant to what’s going on. And if I can’t read the newspaper, I can’t stay relevant that easily. And part of being a detective is knowing what is going on in the world to the best of your abilities. And if I’m unable to do_ that _, I can’t stay relevant and not understand what is happening in the world and if it will affect someone.”_

_Silence. Then…_

_“…..wouldn’t it be easier for you to read off a phone?”_

_“Wait outside the gray convertible and let me read.”_

_Judy had spent the rest of the day with Bogo, being studied, examined, evaluated. This was her one chance to make a good impression on her future co-worker and was already screwing it up._

_“This is your day to prove you have what it takes to be a detective, Hopps.” Bogo said when he came by the car. “Every moment will be monitored by me. I’m aware of your habit of impulsivity and insubordination, regardless of what results they bring. If you want this promotion, you’re going to have to prove to me that you’ve earned it.”_

_“Yes, sir.” Judy said quietly. Her hand combed through her short hair, thankful that it was its strawberry-blonde instead of the steel-grey it used to be during her first year. It made her look old and foolish. “So…what am I supposed to be doing, exactly?”_

_“You want to be promoted to detective? Investigate, analyze, make connections in cases going on around here.” Bogo said briskly. “And if you do a good enough job by the time we part, then the promotion stays.”_

_Bogo, as it turned out, had been assigned to evaluate Judy_ because _of her earlier career. And because of her impulsivity. So he made it a point to bring up incidents in the past that could not and would not be repeated under his supervision. But when he was mentioning an incident early in her career where she abandoned her post to go after some ‘weasel’ that stole a bunch of ‘moldy onions’, Judy said in a level voice that the moldy onions in question were not just seen on the black market several times, but were the cause of the Savage Epidemic in Zootopia several years ago._

_She received a glare that told her to shut it, but Judy saw a glimpse of something else, maybe some admiration for making the remark? The feeling could be seen from Bogo’s eyes for a split second before being replaced by a hardened look. Judy looked out the window and tried to tune out Bogo’s words without appearing out of it by looking at the streets as they drove. They went past crowds of people getting to work, working, or simply watching things unravel as they occurred. One man was talking to a girl with long hair and glasses, grinning at something she was saying._

_It reminded her of Nick back at Central Park. They wouldn’t be able to call one another until late that night, which could go from a positive recollection of the day or frustrated discomfort that was bound to follow her around for the next two years, assuming that she could stay that long._

_Ever since the Savage Epidemic, Nick Wilder had been by her side as an ally, advisor, and most importantly, a friend. The only downside to their friendship wasn’t the cultural differences – Nick was Irish and had a difficult time applying to different places – but rather that he couldn’t have come along as easily. Granted, he couldn’t have been relocated as easily as she was since he wasn’t on the force. Helping her during her first big case did wonders for many people; it encouraged more equal rights and less segregation (even if the progress was slow), it brought to light some questionable practices and loopholes within some laws themselves that needed to be fixed, it even got Nick and his friend, Finnick, decent jobs._

_It couldn’t make either of them police officers, however. Nick might have played a major part in ending the crisis a few years back, but he still had a criminal record that couldn’t be ignored. If any of the crimes listed happened when he was younger, then the chances might have been a little more in his favor. Brushed aside as juvenile behavior. But the multiple charges of forgery, con artistry, and tax evasion were recent and sadly not wiped off his slate._

_It was really a shame; Judy felt a kinship with Nick and thought that they could have been a great team. A Dynamic Duo like Batman and Robin, except as equals. But Judy managed to get him and Finnick listed as informants instead, in exchange that neither of them were listed as contributors in the end of the Savage Epidemic. Judy wanted to say no and demanded that all three of them were given credit, but Nick didn’t mind. Finnick refused to let his opinion influence Judy’s decision, but she knew how much it meant for someone to stand up on his behalf like that._

_“Let them think whatever the press tells them to, Carrots.” Judy chuckled at the nickname Nick had given her from the day they met, on account of the carrot-shaped pen/recorder she was carrying at the time. “Informants can’t be helpful if other crooks know they’re helping cops like you keep the place safe and lawful.”_

_As much as she wanted to tell Bogo that she didn’t handle the crisis on her own, there were several problems with that action. Bogo already didn’t like her for her past behavior – which had faded away since her first year – and by admitting that she was not the sole hero in the Savage Epidemic would make her come off helpless and not the officer that she was pegged up to be. True, it might deflate the idea in Bogo’s mind that she had an ego the size of Everest, but there were too many cons that outweighed the pros. Judy also didn’t want to aggravate the man by speaking up again, he clearly enjoyed being in a position of power and there was a small knot in her stomach that suggested that her gender and background might be playing roles in that possibly low opinion._

_Living on a farm seemed to put stupid beliefs into peoples’ heads._

_First day ended up being a glorified tour of the city, or at least the major parts that she needed to be aware of, along with what to do and what not to do during an investigation. Judy was already familiar with the police station, she had transferred several months prior and was already on familiar terms with the receptionist._

_She didn’t appreciate the ‘cute’ comment the first day they met, though._

_There were a few cases that were being handled by others, but Bogo had been working on an assignment that possibly held connections between a Yama Yamamoto – the alliteration was slightly amusing – and the deaths of several people. Evidence pointed to them being Bot-fighters, but the DA’s office needed solid evidence to connect the deaths to Yamamoto._

_“How well do you speak Japanese, Hopps?” Bogo asked after they questioned a witness of the most recent death._

_“Un poco.” Judy chuckled weakly. She almost sighed with relief as Bogo rolled his eyes instead of getting mad again._

_“Work on it. Clawhauser can help.”_

_Judy recalled the ‘cute’ comment and a very remorseful apology afterwards being said by someone with that name._

_There was a 911 call from a young woman reporting that a Bot-fight was occurring, and that it was close to their current location. By the time they had already gotten there, however, plenty of people had already scattered. Not wanting to lose their target, Judy jumped out of the car and ran as fast as she could when she saw a fat man at the center of the chaos._

_"THIS IS OFFICER HOPPS, PURSUING CRIME BOSS YAMA YAMAMOTO! I AM CLOSING IN!" Judy said loudly._

_She ended up scaring away Yama and costing their chance at ending the string of murders. When Bogo finally caught up to her, he didn’t say anything. All he did was point to the car with a cold glare on his face._

Just like my first rodeo. _Judy thought bitterly._ No wonder he was assigned to me.

“You had one job, Hopps and you couldn’t do that right.” Bogo said coldly. “You cannot jump into the fray like that. We were _this_ close to collaring that son of a bitch and you gave away your presence.”

Judy started slowly. “With all due respect, sir-“

“I do not want to hear another word out of your mouth!”

 _He was already getting away._ Judy bitterly thought the words she wanted to say. _By the time backup came, he would have been long gone and we’d be back at square one._

XXXX

He could still smell it; the coppery, hot blood, long after the fighting had stopped. Screams were still roaring in his ears. He pulled off the helmet he was wearing, now reeking with sweat. He tried wiping his face once before removing his glove, showing his dark-brown skin. He wiped at his brow again, his hand becoming moist. What was he doing here?

“Eight-Seven, you alright?” Slip’s voice startled him. He suppressed a yelp.

Eight-Seven took several moments to breathe.

“I’m fine.” He smiled weakly at the young man, who was also not wearing his helmet. It was bad enough if Eight-Seven was caught doing this, but Slip? Did he know what he was doing?

Slip returned the smile. Eight-Seven couldn’t burden one under his command with his own fears. He focused on how that bullet barely missed Slip, how it was that close to taking his....for some reason, he didn’t know what the word was. Squad-mate didn’t feel like a proper definition.

The man responsible for the near-death, the one they were after, would answer for this. Eight-Seven almost felt sorry for him; interrogation wasn’t a pretty sight.

Slip was pudgy, despite the training that he followed along with the rest of the troopers. Shadows under his eyes would suggest lack of sleep, but Slip barely yawned. And he was determined to be the weak-link in Eight-Seven’s command by higher ups. As if to prove that belief further, Eight-Seven noted that Slip didn’t seem that concerned for his leader, despite reassurances. Signals seemed to be flying past his mind, messages unspoken but sent never received. Eight-Seven was determined to ensure Slip’s success as one of his squad, to prove the Commander wrong about Slip. To prove the rest of his squad wrong about the unfortunate nickname bestowed upon him, making sure that each “slip” was not forgotten.

“Some raid, huh?” Slip smiled.

“Yeah.” It felt rough coming out of his mouth, Eight-Seven couldn’t understand why he was still seeing those sights. Why was he the only one affected by the slaughter?

No one said anything about unarmed witnesses.

“FN-2187.” The clear, crisp voice echoing through a filter mask spoke up. Slip yelped in surprise. Entering though the hallway was their Commander, tall and dressed in silver-plated armor. If it wasn’t for the voice, Eight-Seven would have assumed that the one leading them was mechanical. The Commander looked at Slip, speaking with distaste. “And FN-2003. Were either of you authorized to remove your helmets?”

Eight-Seven bit his lip, trying to level his heartbeat before speaking. “No, Commander.”

“It was getting kind of hot-“

“I am not speaking to you, 2003!” The Commander spoke sharply. Slip looked away in shame. She held her gaze at Eight-Seven.

“Please hand in your blaster for inspection, Eight-Seven. We need to make sure that it isn’t malfunctioning.”

He never pulled the trigger.

“Yes, Commander.” Eight-Seven said quietly.

The Commander waited until Eight-Seven and Slip placed their helmets back on.

“As you were.” She said and then walked off.

Slip didn’t speak for over a minute; his voice being muffled by the helmet as he chuckled quietly. “Is she scary or what?”

Eight-Seven didn’t answer.

XXXX

Sunlight streamed across the room, the beams hitting Hiro’s eyes, still closed in sleep. Tadashi moved in front of the light, covering his brother’s frame in shadow. He pulled on his socks, hopping around on one foot a few times.

A quick glance at the alarm clock on his drawers told him it was 6:47 a.m. He stumbled across No Man’s Land and plopped down on the purple bean-bag chair. Tadashi started tying his shoelaces together when he heard a quiet yawn. He looked towards Hiro’s bed and saw the boy pushing the covers off himself lazily.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Tadashi grinned as Hiro rubbed his eyes. “Sleep well?”

 All he got was a small grunt and a shrug in reply. Tadashi looked at Hiro’s alarm clock and went back to his side of the room to collect his bag. It was at least an hour’s drive away and first class began at 8:30. And that wasn’t including the time it would take to park his moped, get into the main building and locate his classroom.

Tadashi took one look at Hiro, raising an eyebrow in surprise when he saw his little brother getting himself out of his bed. He looked like he needed more sleep, but Hiro just dragged himself over to his drawers and started pulling out clothes at random, sniffling from time to time. Tadashi chuckled and pulled out a pair of jeans and a red sweater from the drawers and handed them both to Hiro.

“It’s not that cold.” Hiro mumbled, but he still started pulling the sweater over his head when he realized that he still had his sweatshirt on from the previous evening.

“Hiro,” Tadashi began, “it’s late February and you were out at night. You say it’s not that cold, but you’re starting to have a drippy nose.”

 “No, I’m not!” Hiro glared at him. He sniffed again and wiped his nose.

A lightbulb lit up in Tadashi’s mind. He said. “Why don’t we have you checked on? There’s a friend that I want you to meet, actually. He’ll be able to help.”

Hiro sniffed again. “I’ll be fine. I’ll go back to bed and-“

Tadashi grabbed him around the middle and hoisted him upside-down. Hiro giggled as he was held by the ankles.

“I’m not a doctor, but I know you’re not _that_ sick.” Tadashi teased. He placed Hiro on his bed and felt his forehead. “Hmm, no fever, but your nose is redder than an apple.”

He looked down at the staircase, wondering if Aunt Cass was already up baking. Since today was Wednesday, Naru would – _thankfully_ – not be showing up to work and giving Tadashi a hard time as usual. For some reason that he was afraid Hiro would know about – he only had to recall the dirty joke last night for reference – Naru had a strange detestation for any innuendo and had to make it sound like she had previous engagements that couldn’t be avoided in order for Aunt Cass to let her not work on that specific day. The only reason Tadashi knew the girl’s aversion to that specific day was because he had mentioned it in passing and ended up on the receiving end of a rant on why that day was perverted and clearly named so by a man.

That was the first day Tadashi realized his Aunt had just hired a straw feminist.

Or so he thought; Naru clearly made an effort to be reasonable as long as no one – especially Tadashi – touched her, accident or not. He had half a mind to suggest a therapist when she let it slip on another day she was taking anger management classes to Aunt Cass, one of the rare cases where Naru and Tadashi had been caught arguing with one another in front of the woman.

 _Great_. Tadashi thought that day. _My Aunt just hired a psycho man-hater._

He was doubtful; either Naru was sincere or simply trying to avoid losing her job. Aunt Cass had let it go as a one-time occurrence, but Tadashi and Naru had made a non-verbal agreement that their arguments couldn’t happen during business hours or while Aunt Cass and Hiro were around and within earshot.

It still didn’t stop the young boy from catching them throwing verbal barbs at each other and told them to get a room. Naru glared at Tadashi as if he were the one who said it while Tadashi groaned and directed his attention towards getting Hiro to try interacting with the other children in the park – Naru wouldn’t let Hiro interact with the brown-skinned girl with the funny accent who had accompanied her that day – and had to step in a few times when it ended with Hiro and another child getting into a physical fight that ended with Hiro biting so hard on the other’s arm that it bled.

When Tadashi had confronted Hiro about it later, the answer was heartbreaking.

“They called me a know-it-all and called me a freak.” Hiro sobbed. He had just encountered kids from what was formerly his kindergarten class.

 _He’ll like it at SFIT._ Tadashi thought. _Know-it-alls like him wouldn’t care how smart he is. But if they still have a problem with my baby brother being smart, they answer to me!_

“Take a shower and put your clothes in the hamper.” Tadashi smiled encouragingly. He looked at the clock and saw the time was now 6:58. He’d have to ask Aunt Cass about borrowing the truck first, at least it had a heater.

Hiro scampered off to the bathroom downstairs before running back up to grab a towel. Several minutes later, he was pulling the light sweater over his damp head and was sounded a little less stuffy. Tadashi took the towel that was tossed to the floor after Hiro had put on jeans – Tadashi was thrown out of the room while this occurred – and began drying Hiro’s head thoroughly, much to the boy’s annoyance.

“You’re still stuffy, a wet head will just make you feel worse.” Tadashi said.

“Alright.” Hiro grumbled. Tadashi ruffled his hair afterwards, making the clump of hair even messier from the drying. “ _Sniff._ Is Aunt Cass still mad at me?”

It took a moment for Tadashi to collect himself. He had forgotten all about Aunt Cass’ anger from last night, justified or not.

“No.” He said finally. “She was just worried, you know how she is.”

Hiro didn’t look satisfied, but he didn’t reject the outstretched hand and clasped it into his own, smaller one.

“We are we going, Dashi?” Hiro asked as Tadashi grabbed his bag and began walking down the stairs with Hiro by his side. “Is your friend a doctor?”

“Kind of.” Tadashi admitted. “I’ll explain when we get there, but we have to hurry.”

“Wait.” Hiro’s voice went up an octave, the way it did when he realized something. “Don’t you always leave early to get to class?”

Tadashi tried not to let his face go pale. “Yes…”

“You’ll be late.” Hiro let go of his hand.

“No, no.” Tadashi reassured him, taking Hiro’s hand back into his own. “Hiro, he’s at the college, we just have to make it before my class starts. Aunt Cass!”

They had reached the bottom floor and looked into the kitchen, seeing Aunt Cass at work kneading large clumps of dough for donuts. She looked up when Tadashi called out to her.

“Tadashi. You heading out?” Aunt Cass asked.

“Yeah, I need to borrow the truck, is that alright?”

“Keys are in the flower pot upstairs.” Aunt Cass said as she went back to her dough. Tadashi felt Hiro let go a second time as he rushed upstairs to grab the keys. A couple of moments later – and several chair-scrapping-against-the-floor-sounds later – Hiro came back downstairs with the keys in his other hand.

“I’m taking Hiro with me, is that alright?” Tadashi added.

Aunt Cass looked back up in surprise. “What for?”

“He’s got the sniffles and there’s someone on campus who I wanted him to meet that can help.” Tadashi explained. He continued when Aunt Cass opened her mouth to protest. “He’s a friend of mine, call my friends and ask about him. I’m not going to leave Hiro alone with him, don’t worry.”

“I won’t be able to pick him up if you take the truck.” Aunt Cass said.

“I’ll bring Hiro back on my lunch break.” Tadashi said, giving her a smile in reassurance. “He’ll be with me 24/7. Trust me.”

“Alright. Have a good day, Tadashi. And Hiro, I don’t want you going outside when you come back, I’ll have some hot soup ready.”

“Bye, Aunt Cass.” Hiro waved as he took ahold of Tadashi’s hand and walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> k for the third chapter? That's more than the first two chapters (albeit, not together)!
> 
> Tadashi, for this story, is going to remain as true to canon as I can, so forgive him if he might come off odd. I'm writing him as if he's talking to a 14 year-old Bot-fighting delinquent, not an 8 year-old. This can be both good and bad: It's good, because Hiro respects him for treating him more maturely at times but its bad because Tadashi has to realize his kid brother is still just that. A kid. Someone who might feel pressured more easily rather than encouraged. But he still has his "Dashi" moments, such as the lullaby, holding Hiro's hand and thinking of him as his "baby brother.
> 
> I decided to give Chief Bogo (who is Detective and not in what is supposed to be Zootopia/Central Park in this AU) the name, Idris, because that is the name of the actor who plays it.
> 
> Judy Hopps will play a role in this story, and because Bogo wasn't her boss prior to this story, she is still a bit impulsive. However, she is also more mature, too, thanks to the Savage Epidemic case.
> 
> If there is any confusion about Zootopia being in this AU, as well as the implied problems going on over there, my answer is because SanFransokyo exists.
> 
> The city was reconstructed after the earthquake in 1906 by Japanese immigrants, so things can't exactly stay the same. For starters, Japan and the US became allies in this timeline and racial prejudices died down in some areas while they became worse in others. For example, Irish people are still discriminated against and have a hard time getting job, so the "No Irish Need Apply" rule still stands. I'm Irish, so this feels a bit ironic to input into this story.
> 
> The year in this story is the same as the one in the movie, 2032, so things are definitely different than the fanon timeline that is 2014...for some reason. Big Hero 6 is essentially a large For Want of A Nail movie, but we aren't able to learn more about the world the heroes live in until this fall, unfortunately. So, I am going to be creating a world in the not-so-distant future where flying cars still haven't happened, yet.
> 
> Before I go, I have a challenge for you readers: What movie references have been made in this chapter? First person to get the answer right has requesting privileges for something to happen next chapter and a cameo appearance.
> 
> In the writing world, I will see you!


	4. Morning Routine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I begin, I just wanted to say I found the artist who did the baby!Hiro fanart that inspired another story of mine, Compassion. Really a relief and I just sent a request for this fanart idea I never saw done before. Too bad they only do commissions and those are pricey. Maybe after college is done... I'm just glad to see they're still around. On to the story, then!

Rey's up before the sun rises, the previous night being a physically exhausting one. She barely had time to lie down on her bed before sleep overtook her in an instant.

She never realized that was possible until she experienced it, it always sounded a lot like an exaggeration on exhaustion. Rey rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stumbled into the little bathroom in her apartment. She jumped at the sound of mechanical chirping and spun around, grabbing an old baseball bat on the floor as a weapon. Seeing it was just BB-8, Rey sighed and let the bat drop to the floor with a loud  _thud!_

"Don't scare me like that." Rey grumbled, stifling back a yawn as she knelt down and pat the bot's head in greeting. She winced, remembering the bruises from the previous night. "I'm going to take a shower, now. I'll be done in a few minutes. Don't leave this room."

_One day of knowing him and I'm treating him like some sort of pet._ Rey mused as she turned the water to hot and let it stream down from the shower head. She grabbed a bar of soap and stripped down to nothing.  _I hope he finds his friend, whoever that may be._

She had given up the prospect of learning anything else about BB-8 aside from the few words he gave out freely. If he wanted to keep secrets, she ought to respect it to the best of her ability. Just like BB-8 respected her privacy.

_Rey finished scrubbing the grease off her hands and wiped them off with a used rag. Her boss, Mr. Plutt –_ fat bastard never lets me have a moment!  _– stomped over to her with that frozen scowl of his on his face, as if everything he saw was a disappointment._

_"You almost done, girl." He snarled. Plutt would never call Rey by her actual name, she knew that much from living the past 14 years under his roof._

_"Yes." Rey said quietly, her hand touching a monkey wrench as she dropped the rag._

Don't do anything you'll regret.  _She told herself._ He's the reason you're working here. He got you a job, he's paying you, you just need to tolerate his presence for ten hours a day with weekends free.

_"Good." Plutt waved his hand dismissively at her. "Finish up and you can leave."_

_The words didn't get out fast enough; Rey worked on placing her equipment back in their original spots and went into the restroom to scrub her face. Two minutes later, she did everything in her power not to run out of the shop like a kicked dog with its tail between its legs._

_She was never so thankful for her birthday until last year, when Rey finally became of age and could move out of Plutt's home. Being dropped on his doorstep with hopes that someone would come back for her didn't make life easy._

_Thank goodness, he never made her sleep in a broom closet, though._

_Rey couldn't for the life of her understand why she was left in the hands of someone who valued money over others. Why was she placed into the custody of a man that treated her like a nuisance if she did nothing wrong to deserve it? Why?_

_"You want to live here, earn your keep." He growled at her on her twelfth year. The first week since that declaration was spent struggling to figure out how. Maintaining house wasn't enough, apparently. And then, it came to her when she was kicking a can on the street in frustration after school on day. It wasn't much, even in quantity, but it kept Plutt off her back. Rey started becoming more daring, looking for pieces to salvage beyond bottles and cans, started fixing them up when she could and then selling them to buyers._

_There wasn't much money to be kept from those sales, however. Plutt began charging her for food, board and lodgings, water, and electricity; leaving her with only scraps for herself._

_The only decent thing he has done recently was giving her a job to work at his mechanics' shop. The apartment didn't come up until several months of living on the curb, storing whatever money she got into a recently acquired bank account She never thought she'd miss a bed so much until the day she moved into her new home._

_Rey felt her phone buzzing in her pocket and pulled it out. A text message from Tadashi, asking if she's seen his little brother. A photo was sent several moments later, but she had several conversations with Tadashi to know who he was talking about._

_She smiled at the picture sent; a small boy with messy black hair sitting crisscross on the floor using a small screwdriver on a robot made of assorted parts –_ was there a doorknob in it?  _– clearly not aware that he was having a picture taken of himself._

Well, how far could the kid have gone?  _Rey thought. A third text had her eyebrows going up._

P.S. He Bot-fights.

_Rey didn't know where to start looking, since she never participated in the temptations of the underground challenges, but her first guess would be somewhere secluded. Unknown or out of sight. The Gray District would be the first place to go, then._

_Within ten minutes of jogging, Rey realized belatedly how hard it was to trek on foot, clutching a stitch at her side. Asking for directions wasn't able to accomplish much, either, since she was potentially taking the chance of talking to someone that would create disaster or be undercover and arrest her under suspicions._

_That was when she heard him._

_Rey had to blink several times to make sure her eyes weren't going out on her. Something was rolling as fast as it could towards her, beeping incomprehensibly for attention. The code the little robot was using was something Rey had brushed up on in school. Kids had found ways of making it so that their robots could communicate in codes that only the children could understand. Since her only other option was going back to a place where she wasn't wanted or needed, Rey found it easy to spend time after school watching her peers construct models and work on a completely different language._

_The funny thing, however, was that all of the codes that the kids worked on to sound unique ended up being the exact opposite. Like Latin was the basis for English, the codes ended up follow a similar root –_ how _this could have been achieved when all you could hear were beeps and bops, Rey wasn't sure – and so, all the kids accomplished was creating a language that got people in the outside world interested._

_It was only a small blaze, though. Rey didn't know anyone outside her peers from school that were able to understand – or teach – the Robotic, as it was deemed, unfortunately._

_So, it ended up being embarrassing that Rey was the only person in the area who knew that the robot rolling down the street was saying hello._

_"Hello to you, too." Rey said directly to the robot. The robot had a circular lower body and a small half circle that must act as a head, if the lens meant anything. The lower body had several orange rings around it while the rest was white. Rey felt herself smiling at the sight, wondering how people would react if they saw a young woman in the streets cooing at a robot. Would they join in?_

_"What are you doing here?" She asked._

_The robot chirped frantically._

_"Looking for a friend, eh? Who are they?"_

_Several beeps and chirps left Rey nodding serenely. "Ah, top secret. Understandable."_

_The chirping and beeping sounded more indignant than previous. "Alright, I won't be sarcastic again. What's your name, or is that 'top secret' too?"_

_The robot beeped in response._

_"BB-8." Rey repeated, putting the name to memory. "I'm Rey."_

_She pointed to the path behind her. "Keep going that way, you'll be a lot safer there. If you need help, the police station is –"_

_Rey looked back to find that BB-8 wasn't listening to her. It was rolling around, as if it were trying to find someone. Then she remembered how far away the police station was from here and sighed._

_"Well, I can take you to the police station, if that helps. But…a friend needs my help. Could you stay with me for a little bit?"_

_BB-8 nudged her gently, like he was happy to have someone accompany him._

_It proved to be a good thing, having a second set of….lens'…with her. When she mentioned the word, Bot-fight, BB-8 extended an antenna and showed a hologram of the area. Several beeps from the robot told Rey that he was accessing the internet for any Bot-fights scheduled that night. They went to the nearest one and Rey began looking for any signs of the boy in the picture. Twenty minutes in and she was about to leave and look somewhere else when she heard a small voice speak up at the fat man, Yama's, challenge. The first thing she did when she realized that the boy, Hiro, was about to Bot-fight was contact the police and message Tadashi. He responded back, saying to get Hiro out of there before anything happened._

_She did that…and ended up being surrounded by four bulky men for her trouble in the end. BB-8 was slowly being cornered and Hiro was_ still _going to Bot-fight with someone that looked like he wasn't familiar with not getting his way._

_Rey took a punch to the face while someone held her from behind, her cheek swelling with pain. As her attacker raised his fist again, Rey noticed that his buddy was also raising his fist to strike. If she could lean just a_ little  _to the left…_

_That proved to be easier to do than she thought, as Rey realized that the one behind her was not expecting someone to struggle so suddenly. It still wasn't that effective, since she felt a fist graze across her face, but she heard a_ thud!  _behind her that was followed by a loosened grip. Rey shoved an elbow behind her and got a punch to the gut before she ducked and rolled away. Two_ thuds!  _behind her gave Rey an idea of what kind of intelligence her opponents had. She looked back to see two of the thugs on the ground, unconscious. Rey turned to face the last one, who had a foot and at least fifty pounds on him if she was actually good at math like people thought she was._

_He got into a fancy fighting pose; shifting his legs with one in front of the other, his arms spread out like waves on the sea, and his eyes taking a sudden shift in expression, turning into a cold-steely gaze that would not yield._

_And while he was getting into the pose, Rey kicked him in the crotch and in the face for good measure. She looked to where Hiro and the fat man, Yama, were just in time to see Hiro's tiny robot squeeze its opponent's head off._

_The chase afterwards proved to be a bad idea, her new bruises aggravated by the action._

_As she gained a good distance from the Hamada brothers – Hiro had_ definitely  _weirded her out a little – Rey realized belatedly that between walking to and from the police station with no mode of transportation, she wouldn't be able to make it that far with the energy she had left._

_"I'm afraid you're on your own." Rey crouched down and said apologetically. She pointed to a building north of where they were standing. "Make it to that building and…"_

And what?  _Rey thought._ Hope that no one else would try coming after him? Try not to attract attention with his size and obvious inhuman appearance?

_She sighed._ What a soft shell, I'm becoming.

_"My place isn't far from here." Rey said slowly. She continued when BB-8 looked up at her eagerly. "It's just for tonight. I'll drop you off at the police station in the morning."_

_BB-8 chirped and beeped with joy until Rey repeated a little more sternly. "Just. For tonight. Then you're on your own when I drop you off."_

_BB-8 couldn't help but beep once more, trying to get the last word in._

_"You're welcome."_

_He failed._

Rey traced her stomach absentmindedly while she let the soapy oil slick across her skin in the lukewarm water. The bruises were more prominent, a mixture of black, blue and yellow skin. She lifted a hand to her cheek, trying to ignore the flaring pain when she touched it. The hot water was obviously not the best idea, but cleanliness came first.

After rinsing and drying herself, Rey put on some fresh undergarments and reached into her single drawer for clothing options. She pulled out an old pair of jogging pants, a blue short-sleeved shirt, and a tan sweatshirt. They were a size or two larger than she could get – Plutt never bothered with purchasing clothes that girls her age wore – but at least they were wearable. The sweatshirt felt more relaxed to wear today, she had the day off, thankfully. Once she dressed herself, Rey looked into her small fridge for a reusable ice pack, planting it gingerly on her bruised cheek. She winced at the mixture of cold and pain, hoping that there wouldn't be any swelling.

"Alright, BB-8, I'm ready." Rey turned to face the robot, who had turned his head around to give the young woman some privacy, apparently. Assured that he wouldn't be accused of being a pervert – at least from Rey's perspective – BB-8 turned back to face her and looked up and down at her before chirping a sound that Rey suspected was meant to be wolf-whistling.

"You're not trying to flirt with me, are you?" Rey asked as they made their way out the door. For once, she was thankful that she lived on the first – and in her opinion, worst – floor. BB-8 could traverse up hills and extend cables to pull himself places, but without feet, he couldn't move up platforms without assistance. "Because I have a policy against dating anything under the age of 16."

She ignored the looks thrown in their direction, or at BB-8. More chirping from BB-8 earned a chuckle from Rey, feeling the sunlight warm her skin with the entrance door opened with a push.

"Ah, a smart-ass. Lovely."

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Fred groaned and continued to ignore his alarm clock, half of his body dangling off the bed with the blood rushing to his head. His head was groggy, his mouth was dry and felt like paste, and he just wanted to sleep for five more minutes. Instead of granting his wish, the alarm clock on his bedside  _roared!_ in the voice of the Great Kaiju, Joey, before speaking.

"Awaken, puny human, before I eat you! Rooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrr!"

Sound effects for firebreath now filled the air, the rough grating in the mechanical voice box ruining the illusion. Fred decided to take it as a sign to wake up, he had to get ready for work anyhow. He opened his crusty eyes and abruptly fell to the floor, forgetting the awkward sleeping position he had woken up in.

Fred placed his palms against the floor and pushed up, pulling his legs underneath while he did this. Straightening himself up, Fred stretched and jumped back onto his bed, leaning in to turn off his alarm right as Joey was making death threats again, holding a miniature car in one hand and miming the action of eating it. The silence wasn't unwelcome, but wasn't doing anything for Fred's head. He scratched his rear, absentmindedly wondering what the weather would be like outside today.

_Why do I care?_ Fred realized.  _I just wear the same thing most days._

The lights were still on from last night, the newest comics proved to be too tempting to ignore and would forever be the bane of Fred's existence. But the cover was too tempting; the hero of Super Mega Ultra Awesome was confronted by someone that resembled them closely in a mask. The story itself was not a disappointment.

It was so interesting how they could use a cliché of the villain being related to the hero and turn it into something interesting. Sure, there was an abduction – or so it seemed – and they both fought, but the villain didn't try forcing the hero into joining him. He just  _had_ to tell someone about it today or else it would never get out of his system. Or maybe if he starts fanboy squeeing. The latter felt more likely at the moment.

_Shower first, or breakfast?_  Fred thought. _If I get washed, then I'll just stuff on my face from eating. But if I eat first, Heathcliff will have my head and throw me into the shower himself. Something about cleanliness. Ah, a tough decision to make. Which was the lesser of two evils?_

He imagined Heathcliff armed with a scrub-brush and fire hose, stoic-faced and ready for anything.

_Shower. Definitely shower._

* * *

Three Candy Tarts, a bag of chips, and EnergyJuice. Breakfast of Champions in Fred's mind, Breakfast of Fatty Foods in Heathcliff's. The Battle of the Breakfasts would always be a passionate one for both sides.

He tried to ignore the raised eyebrow that said so much in that one expression. It always made him feel guilty for not listening to Heathcliff. He had been working for his father ever since before Fred was born, maybe ever since Dad was his age. Whatever hair was on his thinning head was a dark-gray and kept in perfect order. A thin moustache was above his lips, it could have been shaven off and replaced with stencil markings and no one would be the wiser. His neck had a few rumbles, it wouldn't have been much of a shock if he started gobbling at random.

The older man kept a stoic face on like a mask –  _so_  worth majoring in English, he could make cool similes – as Fred munched and chewed and swallowed the food he got from his pantry back in the bedroom.

"Master Frederick, I received a message from your father that he wished to relay back to you." Heathcliff said in a dry, English accent.

Fred looked up expectantly. Was Dad finally coming back from the island? Was it today? Maybe he could tell him about the comic and get his opinion on it. Dad never did enjoy stuff like that, but Fred thought he would at least listen for his son's sake.

"He regrets to inform you that he and your mother are extending their vacation on their private island for another three weeks. He sends his love and expresses his sorrow for not coming home as promised."

Something got caught in his throat, maybe a chip, and there was a hard WHACK! on his back that allowed Fred to breathe again. Heathcliff gave him a concerned look, but Fred waved him away carelessly.

"Aw, don't worry Heathcliff. If I were retired, I wouldn't want to leave a vacation and go home, either."

"Perhaps you could call him –" Heathcliff began but Fred continued speaking.

"What my Dad does is his concern." He said and added with a grin. "Besides, it's kind of cool to have the whole place to myself."

Heathcliff gave him a look.  _That_ look.

"And you, Heathcliff." Fred said quickly. "No one else to get in your way."

"That was not the point I was wishing to make, sir." Heathcliff said. "You don't have to be by your –"

_"You're late, puny human!"_

"Whoops!" Fred looked at his Kaiju-themed watch showing 7:34 and stood up, grabbing the last Candy Tart and stuffing it into his mouth. "Go'a o, 'Eefciff."

"Chew and swallow, Master Frederick, or I will have to apply force on your back again." Heathcliff frowned. Fred felt the prediction come true again and was rubbing his back several moments later, Heathcliff giving an apologetic look that also said 'I warned you.' For a man in his mid-fifties to early-sixties – Fred wasn't sure how  _old_ Heathcliff was and wasn't going to press for answers – the man could give one hell of a back whack.

The comic from the night before came back to the front of his mind. Maybe…

"Hey, Heathcliff." Fred said as he stood up from the kitchen table. "There's this comic I read last night that I think you'll love to hear about –"

"You and I have our days ahead of us, Master Frederick." Heathcliff said, walking out of the kitchen. "Perhaps later today."

"Yeah." Fred shrugged.  _Perhaps_.

Today was Wednesday, and aside from being the source of dorky jokes – which Fred was guilty of making from time to time – it meant only one thing.

_I hope the others are coming in, today._ Fred thought hopefully. He jogged out the front hall and onto the streets.  _Their schedules are so different, I can't be sure._

He mentally listed the schedules of his four friends based on meal hours they were certain to show up at.  _Okay, the only two people I'm_ certain  _will come in today are Honey Lemon and Tadashi. That's good. And since Mister Nerd spends the mornings in class, I guess Honey Lemon will need some company. I sure hope she doesn't think I'm going to flirt with her, though. If Gogo can get like that when pissed off, I pray to whatever god exists that I_ never  _see Honey Lemon mad._

* * *

Traffic had been surprisingly light – they were able to shave off at least ten minutes, something that Dashi wouldn't stop talking about – and they made it to Dashi's school. The Nerd School. SFIT or the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. The place where Dashi had been constantly talking to Hiro about applying to. And they were walking into the building without so much as an argument. No retorts, no counter-arguments, no attacks on Edison and his works.

_Maybe I should have stayed in bed today._ Hiro thought.  _Maybe I'm not feeling as great as I thought._

The college building on the outside was a combination of castle-like structures and slanted rooftops like other buildings in the city, following the tradition of combining American architecture with Japanese when it was first constructed in 1930. Of course, Hiro only knew this because he had to listen to teachers at least drill that into his brain almost a hundred times!

He couldn't get much of a look when they parked, though, Dashi grabbed him hand and ran into the building next to it as fast as they could. The one covered in glass and was hopefully thick enough for a rock to not break it. Either they were the advanced solar panels that also functioned as windows or it was a designer's choice.

_You could have done this_ after  _classes._ Hiro fumed a little while Dashi went from running while he tugged at Hiro's hand to placing the young boy on his back.  _You're going to be late and it'll be_ my  _fault. I don't want to get in trouble again._

"Sorry." Dashi said sheepishly. "I can't be late for class, so we gotta get there ASAP."

"I'm not a baby!" Hiro complained. He was too  _old_ to be carried around like this! The last time he was placed in a carrier was when he was...he didn't know, but it was a long time ago!

"You're not?" Dashi asked in a surprised tone. "Huh. This whole time, I just thought you had a growth spurt. It feels like I was just changing your diaper yesterday when – OW!"

Dashi glared at a smirking Hiro, who was whistling innocently while his legs swung a little, his left foot tapping lightly on Dashi's side.

"Did you have to kick me?" He growled.

"Did you have to make fun of me?" Hiro stuck his tongue out.

"Grow up."

"You first."

"Troll."

"Nerd."

"Unbelievable." Dashi sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me Bot-fight?" Hiro suggested hopefully. He sniffed, his nose in desperate need of a nostril clog. Maybe he could invent that…

"Not without Megabot, you can't." Dashi countered as he took a turn down the hall, his backpack whacking Hiro a few times – Dashi had managed to shift his bag over one shoulder so Hiro could be carried.

_We'll see about that._ Hiro thought.

Several turns later, Dashi started slowing down where the hallway started showing opaque windows on each side. Hiro sighed with relief when Dashi finally let him drop to the ground, wasting no time in stretching his stiff limbs. His brother opened one of the doors and gestured inside.

"We got twenty minutes before my class starts, so we better make this fast." Dashi said as Hiro walked in. "Welcome to my lab."

His mouth dropped as he let the sight before him sink in. It was at least the size of their bedroom with a large window at the end showing the rest of the city. The sun was now shining brightly and showing a grassy park below. A bookcase containing reading material based in medicine, engineering, and physics was pushed against the wall to his left. Holo-screen computer spanning 70 inches detailing schematics for some project that Dashi might have been working on earlier.

Two additional desks containing hardware and a workspace along with a microwave on the side. At the end of the room, in front of the window, was a small red box. Everything in this area belonged to his big brother. An entire room to himself for working on projects, studying, or just relaxing. It was like a dream come true!

A warm hand cupped over his chin and moved it upwards. Hiro looked to see Dashi grinning at him.

"If you keep your mouth open for long, a fly might buzz inside." Dashi then started making a  _buzz!_ sound, moving closer and closer to Hiro's ear before the boy started giggling and pushing his brother away. Dashi started chuckling himself before Hiro started sniffing again.

"Stupid nose." Hiro grumbled as he wiped it with his sleeve. Dashi ruffled his hair and pulled out a rolling chair from one of the desks. The chair was gently pushed in Hiro's direction. He scanned the room for another human being, frowning as he did so. "Where's the friend of yours?"

"He's coming, you'll see. You're gonna love this, buddy." Dashi smiled. Hiro rolled his eyes as he sat down on the rolling chair offered to him. He started pushing the chair backwards on instinct, unaware that his brother was walking right behind him at that moment. Dashi yelped and hopped on one foot while Hiro stood up and started apologizing profusely. "Ow!"

"Dashi, are you alright?"

Dashi waved him off. "It's nothing, buddy, just stubbed my toe."

"I didn't see you, I'm really sorry, Big Brother!" Hiro said frantically.

He jumped when he started hearing a beeping noise, looking around frantically for the source. Then he heard a hissing sound and felt his head being turned towards the window at the end of the room by Dashi's hand. Something was coming out of the red box he saw earlier, something white and large and plump. Like a marshmallow. Only bigger.

It stopped inflating and now looked like a large snowman; with a small oval head that contrasted with its plump torso and limbs. The Thing that came out of the box had two black circles for eyes and a black line that connected them together, standing over six feet tall. It looked at Hiro and Dashi for a moment before walking towards them. Or waddled. It could be a penguin with that strut. Hiro felt Dashi crouched behind him and place an arm around his shoulders. The most interesting thing that the Thing did was blink. There weren't eyelashes or pupils, but Hiro felt a bit more comfortable around it now. It felt…human. When the Thing started talking – where the calm, expressionless voice was coming from, Hiro didn't see a mouth on the face, but thought there was a voicebox in it – Dashi was whispering it in unison, as if he had rehearsed it for hours.

"Hello." The Thing waved its hand in a small circular motion. "I am Baymax, your personal Healthcare companion –"

"I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said: 'Ow'." Dashi concluded right as Baymax did.

Hiro stared at the robot. So large. So soft and plushy looking. Urges were twitching throughout his body. The temptation was just so difficult to refuse. But, no, he  _had_ to resist. He had to be more mature now, use that big brain of his like Dashi always tells him to. But he just wanted to –

"You can hug him if you like, Hiro." Dashi said behind him. "He was built for that, you know."

He didn't even finish speaking when Hiro rushed headfirst into Baymax and pressed into the body, all dignity forgotten. The fabric was vinyl, Hiro noted, as he felt it between his fingertips. Baymax didn't respond to the contact and continued speaking. While this was going on, Hiro pressed into Baymax hard enough to get a look at what was keeping the robot up, a thin metallic skeleton with extendable limbs.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?" Hiro jumped back when he saw a screen flash in front of him on Baymax's chest, showing a diagram of facial expressions; 1 showing a broad smiley face and 10 showing a red face screaming in agony.

"I'd say a 3." Dashi said. "Nothing major."

"I will scan you now." Baymax looked up and down at Dashi, blinking twice during this short process. The chest lit up again with a basic human diagram, one area highlighted red where Dashi stubbed his toe. "Scan complete. You have a small sprain on your: toe."

It – or  _he_ , since Baymax sounded like a man – held up a stubby index finger like he was about to make a point. "I suggest: a small ice pack."

Dashi nodded at this like it was a brilliant idea. Hiro would have just left the toe alone and went about his business. He just didn't understand why Aunt Cass thought it was a bad idea the last time he tried doing that. It wasn't his fault the oven was left open.

"Baymax, could you scan Hiro, too?" Dashi pointed to Hiro. Baymax tilted his head and blinked. He looked up and down at Hiro before responding. "Scan complete. You have minor inflammation in the: sinuses. Furthermore, your sinus region is suffering from congestion. Diagnosis: common cold."

Hiro smiled in interest.

"I suggest a decongestion tablet. It is most affect when placed in: water." One of Baymax's fingers opened up, and a circular pill popped out of it. Hiro looked on in amazement before an idea came to him.

"What's in the –  _sniff_ – medicine?"

"The primary ingredient is: sodium bicarbonate." Baymax's chest lit up again and showed a diagram of the chemical formula mentioned.

Hiro frowned, all of those times Bot-fighting helped him keep the expression from changing. "Really? I don't think it'll help."

Baymax tilted his head. "Why is that?"

Hiro shrugged. "Cause I'm allergic."

"You are not allergic to: sodium bicarbonate." Baymax said automatically. The screen on his chest faded away. "You do have a mild allergy to: peanuts."

"W-what?!"  _How did he know that?! I didn't tell him!_ Hiro gaped at the robot in shock, trying to wrap his head around it. He automatically looked to Dashi for answers.

Dashi shrugged sheepishly. "I  _might_  have downloaded your medical files into his programming."

" _Might_ have?" Hiro repeated in confusion. What did that mean? Why would his brother –

His eyes widened, looking between Dashi and Baymax a few times. He was sick this morning, Dashi suggested coming here, Baymax knew about his peanut allergy...

"Did…did you want Baymax to know about me?" Hiro asked slowly as Baymax placed the pill in his hand. Then, the robot's chest lit up again, showing a map of the general area. Hiro sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve again.

"The nearest water fountain is approximately 20: meters to your: left. Paper cups or other water containers may be found in the: school store. Approximately 500 meters to your: right."

"It's a good thing I brought a water bottle." Dashi smiled as he walked over. He reached into his backpack, leaning against his left shoulder and rummaged through one of the pockets for a minute before brandishing a plastic bottle with the cap sealed on. He tossed it to Hiro and winced when the boy fumbled with the catch. Hiro rubbed his shoulder for a few moments while Dashi picked up the bottle and handed it to the boy.

"Why?" Hiro didn't know what he meant by that. Why did Dashi download his medical files into a robot? Why was he here? Why did he create Baymax? The possibilities kept branching out.

"Why what?" Dashi asked.

Hiro said the first thing that came to mind. "Why did you make Baymax?"

"Um…" Dashi started rubbing the back of his neck. "That's…actually a difficult question. I…I don't know, really. I made Baymax for…reasons."

"Why is he made of vinyl?"

"Would you rather he looked threatening and dangerous?" Dashi raised an eyebrow.

"What's the skeleton made of?"

"Oh, you saw that? It's carbon fiber, so it's strong and light in case Baymax needs to float. Can't have a Healthcare robot look like a balloon and  _not_ be able to float."

Hiro chuckled. "I can see it now –"

He held up his hands in a grand gesture and spoke in an equally grand voice. "Introducing: Baymax. He's a Healthcare companion. Great with kids. Can do everything but float. Coming to a store near  _you!_ "

Dashi laughed as he looked down at his watch. His face went from bright red to pale white in an instant. "Aw crap –"

He looked at Hiro and added. "…ier."

Hiro scratched his head in confusion, wondering why his brother would try making the word "crap" sound different.

"Class is starting soon. We can talk about this later. Take the medicine now."

"Bye Baymax." Hiro waved to the robot as he walked out of the room. "It was nice meeting you."

Baymax blinked and waved back in his odd, circular gesture.

"Um…"  _How do you turn him off?_  Hiro thought. He looked to Dashi with a questioning look on his face.

"Say you're satisfied with your care." Dashi answered.

"You're satisfied with your care." Hiro repeated. Dashi facepalmed himself. Hiro blushed when he realized his mistake. "Oh. I'm satisfied with my care. Why?"

Baymax then ignored him, turning around and waddling back to the red box he popped out of. He planted both his feet on it and then a  _whrring!_  noise filled the room as Baymax began deflating into the box. Once he had completely shrunk inside, the red top closed on it and Baymax closed his eyes, as if he were falling asleep.

"Hiro. Medicine. Bottle. Now."

Hiro pulled on the cap until he heard a  _snap!_  and had the cap in his other hand. He dropped the pill into the water and watched it quickly dissolve into the water. He replaced the cap back on the top and shook it a little, to stir the contents a little as Dashi gently pushed him out of the doorway.

Dashi stopped and pulled out his phone, the device vibrating for a moment. He tapped at it for a few moments before a large grin broke on his face.

"Guess what, buddy?"

"What…?" Hiro wasn't sure where his brother was going with this.

"Just got an email. Morning class is cancelled!" At this, Dashi began whooping in delight. "How about I show you around campus? We have some time to kill, after all."

Hiro looked back at where Baymax was stationed –  _was he sleeping or just turned off? I don't know if there's a difference._ – and smiled. He blushed when he felt his stomach gurgle loudly.

Dashi just smiled. "How about we get something to eat first. My treat."

* * *

His head was throbbing. Blood was starting to dry over several cuts around his chest and face, but he knew that the wounds would be re-opened soon enough in the next session. This was the longest time he had to wait, but Poe could take it. He  _had_ to.

Within the course of…maybe a day…Poe had been subjected to at least four torture sessions by people who clearly didn't know anything about interrogation. It was that fact alone that kept Poe sane.

The only light he had, came from overhead, but without windows showing the outside world, he would have no idea how long he was actually in here. He did a rough estimate and thought that it was at least six hours since his capture. But he needed sleep, and Poe sincerely doubted that his captors would let him enjoy that until they got what they wanted from him.

He heard a door slide open behind him and sighed. Break-time was apparently over, now. Poe couldn't turn his head to see who it was. That made the anticipation a bit more suspenseful, he supposed. Though he almost laughed when they had just finished shackling him to a table reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster.

Footsteps behind him and he saw the swish of black –  _how dramatic could these people get?_

He lifted his head slowly, expecting to get backhanded by some wannabe torturer who thought the best way to getting information was giving the torturee a potential concussion. Instead, Poe was able to lift his head up to see a tall figure dressed in a black long-coat. This would have been the end of it if his torturer-to-be wasn't wearing that mask, a fusion between a welding mask and a space helmet.

"So." Poe said hoarsely. "You talk first? I talk first?"

The figure didn't speak. Silence. And then…

"The droid." The figure spoke, their voice muffled and altered to the point of obscurity. "Where is –"

The figure paused, noticing the small chuckle escaping Poe's lips.

"Sorry." Poe tried stifling his weak laugh. "It's…kind of hard to hear with all that noise in the back."

He would have loved making a dramatic gesture, but his hands were restrained. He received no response, but it felt like the temperature in the room was beginning to drop. Poe waited for something, anything, from the figure, but only received silence.

"We know about the droid you're after." The figure continued in that distorted voice. It strangely came off as more…welcome? Patient. "You need the droid to complete your mission, and we need the droid to complete ours. Maybe we can help each other out."

Strange how a question could sound more like an order to answer yes.  _Work with_ them?! Poe thought.  _They must be crazier than the reports implied._

"I don't want to be your enemy, Poe." Poe blinked wearily, the tone trying to convey familiarity.

Poe took a deep breath, struggling to form the words in his mind. After many hours of no sleep, this took a while longer than it usually would. The figure looked at him expectantly, before Poe could get the words out in a defiant snarl.

"Sorry, I don't work with terrorists."

Disappointment. That was what Poe could sense in his "host's" body language. Body sagging a little, hands clenched and unclenched, the distorted sigh that came out.

"I was hoping to avoid this." The figure said. They raised their hand at Poe, palm spread out, the leather glove covering it crinkled a little. Poe half-expected lightning to come out of his hand for a moment.

But still, he felt nothing but agony within a few seconds. His teeth clenched together to silence any screams from coming out, the hammering in his skull felt haunted and alien. Unbidden, random memories began to flood across his mind, trying to find something connected to the conversation.

He refused to even  _think_ of using the name, should it give it away to his enemy. There were odd moments where he could  _feel_ emotions, almost pleading like one begging a lover to stay.

– a _woman placed a hand on his shoulders and started speaking –_

No. Must…fight.

_– dressed in black and looking down at two coffins lowered into the ground –_

Poe felt a wave of grief overcome him for a moment, his throat tightening in the same manner as the boy did in the memory.

_– the heat of sex fading, he pulled his lover close to his chest –_

Poe bit his lower lip.

_" – I'm counting on you, Poe –"_

No.

_"– we need to get that –"_

He would  _not_ let him see it.

Poe could feel excitement from across the room, the one standing before him, they  _knew_...

_– a file listing names, Poe leaned over to look at them closely –_

He wasn't able to force the memory away, his lip dripping with blood. He couldn't even feel the pain and surrendered to the onslaught. The figure kept on probing more and more into that memory, more enthusiastic as Poe's energy drained.

_Please…_  Poe pleaded.  _Stop._

He got no response nor reprieve. He was helpless. But Poe still fought, trying to throw them out of the memory, thinking he succeeded for a moment when he started recalling another one until he realized it was  _that_  memory.

_"– we need to get that droid before the Starkillers do. You are to rendezvous at this location and wait for the delivery, then –"_

The last thing Poe could recall before blacking out was screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things have definitely happened differently now. Baymax is introduced first and we get a first look at Fred's morning routine. I know the movie was just trying to introduce all of the team as fast as they could for time and story development, but it didn't really feel realistic. 
> 
> How could all of Tadashi's friends, including the school mascot, be together exactly when Tadashi needs them to in order for Hiro to get a good first impression of the place?
> 
> Let's see if you can spoke any references made in this chapter. Here's a hint; it involves a song. First person to get it right has a chance to plan Hiro meeting Wasabi, Gogo, Honey Lemon, or Fred.
> 
> Next update will be between the 28th of July and the 4th of August. Writing lengthy chapters takes time for me. Thanks for reading! :)
> 
> In the writing world, I will see you.


	5. A New Friend And New Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I'm back! This is going to be a short chapter, unfortunately. But it's still important as we finally get to meet the team one by one. Not all of my chapters are going to be like this, they will be lengthy and have stuff happening. I expect at least 7k words per chapter at the minimum. Anything less will hopefully be at least 5k, since I still have plenty of things happening to compensate.
> 
> Be sure to comment afterwards, feedback helps me. :)

Hiro slowly chugged the seltzer-infused water, coughing a few times whenever it felt a bit too fizzy for his throat to handle. Slowly, he felt his nostrils clear up and started smelling again. It was a start, and he still had to blow his nose on his sleeve – although, Dashi didn't like that – but at least Hiro wasn't suffering that much anymore.

There was shouting down the hall – Hiro cringed, Dashi started slowing down – and it became louder as they got closer to the source.

"Just ignore it, Hiro." Dashi muttered quietly. "We're almost at the cafeteria."

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!"

 _Why does it feel like I heard that before?_  Hiro thought as Dashi took a tight grip on his hand and started walking as fast as they could. A pudgy, stout man stormed in from the right intersection. His lips were pursed up like he just ate something sour. Straight hair that went just past his neck shook as he stomped towards them, Hiro thought it shifted a little, but Dashi was moving too fast to tell.

Another man trailed after the pudgy guy, looking nervous and dragging along a little girl around Hiro's age. She noticed Hiro looking and glared at him.

 _What did I do to her?_ Hiro thought nervously. The man with the little girl was begging with the pudgy man, sounding a bit desperate.

"Hisao, let's talk for a minute, Sarah was just playing around."

The pudgy man stopped in his tracks and turned his head to glare at the one talking to him.

He spoke in a scary, low voice. " _Playing around_?! She destroyed my classroom and six months' work ON PURPOSE!"

"Hiro, we got to go!" Dashi grabbed Hiro around his waist and pulled him up to his chest, and then started jogging. The pudgy man must have heard them, because Hiro could see him looking at his face a moment later. He shuddered, trying to get the face out of his head. It was like being back in high school during junior year…

"Children should be put on leashes." He heard him growl before Dashi turned a corner.

"Don't listen to him, Little Brother." Dashi said in that 'everything will be alright' voice of his. "Professor Aquino doesn't like anybody younger than him."

"You know him?" Hiro wrapped his arms tightly around his brother's neck.

"Talk quieter, buddy."

"Sorry." Hiro said in a loud whisper. "How do you know him?"

"You're still talking too loudly, Hiro, try again."

Hiro gritted his teeth –  _this was so stupid!_ – but in doing so, he wrapped his arms tighter around Dashi's neck.

"Hiro…" Dashi winced. "My neck."

"Oh, sorry." Hiro said a little more quietly.

"Much better." Dashi sighed.

"So how do you know him?" Hiro asked, going back to his loud whisper.

"Who?"

"That fat guy."

"Hiro!" Dashi scolded him. "That's not a nice thing to say!"

"It's true!"

"Would you like it if someone called  _you_ fat?" Dashi asked.

"But I'm  _not_  fat." Hiro protested.

"But what if you were?" Dashi asked.

"I'm not though, so it wouldn't make sense." Hiro insisted.

"Unbelievable…" Dashi sighed.

"You still didn't answer my question!" Hiro said.

Dashi took a deep breath and looked at him seriously. "He's…my first period teacher today…"

Hiro bit his lower lip and turned away, letting go of Dashi's neck and wrapping both his arms around his chest instead. He felt a warm arm wrap itself around his back, keeping him from falling. Hiro pressed his face into Dashi's chest and sighed.  _I just called him fat_. Hiro thought.  _What if he sees me again and knows I called him fat? What if he puts_ me  _on a leash?_

"Hiro, there's nothing to worry about." Dashi said as he rubbed his little brother's back. "Aquino won't hurt you, that's against school policy…actually, it's against  _any_  school policy."

"Can they fire him for being mean?" Hiro asked.

"Hiro, I can't hear you, please get out of my shirt."

"Can the school fire that Aquino guy for being mean?" Hiro asked when he pushed away from Dashi's chest.

Dashi frowned. "He hasn't  _done_  anything, to anyone, so I don't think so. He's probably mad at whatever that girl did. Professor Aquino's a good teacher, you shouldn't get on his bad side."

"He hates me." Hiro muttered.

"Okay; first of all, you don't know that. And second, he was in a foul mood when we saw him. Just…play it safe, and don't say anything to him."

* * *

Seta pressed the bridge of his nose while Sarah called Hisao a "dork." He loved his daughter with all his heart, but he really needed her to be quiet or else he wouldn't be able to make any sort of deal with the university. Their technology was pushing advance after advance, he needed access to the inventions that the students try patenting each year at the showcase. It would help with excavation; fossils that have yet to be found were most likely closer to the Earth's core.

Funding was part of it – people had always told him that there wasn't room for an archeologist in the 2030s – what he was really after was the new tech that the SFIT had access to, since the equipment he had just wouldn't cut it now. This was the 21st century and they were still using drills and large cranes when the world was starting to use laser-induced plasma for home development. Some people are so clueless sometimes.

"If you seriously allow your child to behave this way in other people, then there's no reason for us to do business!" Hisao snapped. "Now leave me alone! I have to contact  _someone_  to clean the mess up and your  _daughter_  is the reason I can't use my phone."

"Sarah needs a lot of room to play in." Seta pleaded. "It was an accident."

"Are you blind?!" Seta flinched when Hisao spun around and marched up to his face. "You were in the room when it happened! She destroyed my classroom with her roughhousing!"

"I didn't mean to." Sarah whimpered from behind Seta. If he were to turn around, he was certain to see that sweet face looking back at him with those tear-filled eyes of hers. Seta made a promise to Sarah's mother and he refused to give up now. 7 years old and the center of his world, Sarah was his child in everything but blood. Who cared if she had blonde hair and he had brown? Blonde hair was a recessive gene. Who cared if her skin was pale and his wasn't? Children can't look  _exactly_ like their parents. His daughter was a good kid, Seta couldn't be fooled.

"Either you get yourself and that child out of here or I'll call security and have you dragged out by force!" Hisao snapped. Seta sighed in defeat and took ahold of Sarah's hand.

"Let's go, sweetheart." Seta said as he pulled his daughter down the hallway. "Daddy's going to have to try again later."

 _But maybe I should get you a babysitter, first._  He thought.

"Daddy, why were you talking to that man?" Sarah asked. "Don't you love me?"

"Of course, I do." Seta smiled. "That man is a professor here at this school and if Daddy can get on his good side, then he might convince the rest of the staff and board of trustees to let me use their equipment."

"Why that man?" Sarah said. She mumbled under her breath. "He's a dork."

"Professor Aquino is a  _very_  influential man in the college." Seta explained. "He has plenty of connections, so it's important that I get him to like me or else I won't be able to go on any excavations anymore. And then we'll slowly starve to death."

He ended this explanation with a smile, thankful that Sarah smiled in return.

"Okay." She said. "But you'll still have time for me, right?"

Seta nodded. He would always have time for his little girl. But first, he needed to get back into Aquino's good graces. After today, he didn't think it would be a good idea to try going after the man now. Not if he wanted to risk security coming after him and Sarah. Tomorrow. He could try again tomorrow. Seta smiled at the thought. Yes, he could try again tomorrow as long as Sarah wasn't with him. Aquino clearly had a thing against children.

* * *

Both brothers stopped talking and Hiro started smelling something down the hall that made his mouth drool. His stomach growled and Hiro could already imagine pancakes and bacon covered in lots of maple syrup. Just like Aunt Cass would make them. With chocolate chips. His stomach growled again, a little louder, like it found all of those things delicious.

"Okay, gotta put you down now." Dashi grunted as he placed Hiro back on the ground. Hiro watched his brother stretch his arms and back, disappointed when he didn't hear any  _crack!_  like he heard on television. "I love carrying you, but Hiro, you're getting a bit on the heavy side now."

"I'm not fat!" Hiro snapped.

"I didn't say you were." Dashi said.

The smell got stronger and Hiro started picking up voices in the distance. He wanted to  _eat_  but Dashi said that he needed to be checked in first, holding out a plastic card with Dashi's name on it. Hiro remembered seeing him use it to get into the lab building earlier, pressing it against some black box until a  _beep!_  happened and unlocked the door. Was there a door that kept people from coming into the cafeteria? Or was there a security guard that needed identification before people could come in?

Both of his questions were answered when Hiro saw two doors leading into the cafeteria and a desk on either side with someone sitting behind them. Someone up ahead gave one of the people their card and that person slid it across something before giving it back to him. When Dashi and Hiro came up to one of the desks, Dashi handed his card to the women behind it.

"Could you also swipe my brother in, too?" Dashi asked. The woman nodded and swiped the card twice before giving it back to him. "Thanks.

"Okay, Hiro. What do you want?" Dashi asked as he handed Hiro a tray. Hiro looked at the food bar; lined with red potatoes, scrambled eggs covered in cheese and bacon or sausage or nothing at all, muffins still warm from the oven – covered with chocolate chips or nuts – with butter in a bowl for the corn muffins. There was a table set up for toast and one at the far end where people were just finishing up putting stuff on their plates that had pastries on them.

Hiro decided to get some regular eggs with potatoes, grumbling when Dashi placed an apple on his tray – something about eating healthy – and almost rushed headlong towards the pastry table. He ended up ramming into something large and hard and soft all at the same time. Hiro winced when he heard a plate smash, letting go of his tray at the exact moment he rammed into that hard, soft, tall thing reminded him of the rules of physics. Anything in motion stayed that way.

"Hiro, are you alright?" Hiro felt Dashi pull him up from the ground and brush his clothes for any dirt.

"Yeah."

"Watch where you run." Dashi sighed and looked up at whatever it was Hiro ran into. "You okay, Fred?"

"How did you know it was me?" Hiro got a good look at whatever or whoever his brother was talking to and almost yelped in surprise. The thing he bumped into was green, scaly, and had a big head with large yellow eyes. Was Dashi friends with a talking lizard?!

He quickly remembered the fabric that was against his face when Hiro rammed into the one called Fred and blushed. It would have been  _so_  cool to meet a talking lizard!

"Fred, this kid you had the misfortune of being rammed by is my little bro, Hiro." Dashi gestured to the boy, who averted his gaze when he saw that Fred was looking at him.

"Hey, little dude." Fred said. He sounded…weird. His voice sounded so relaxed, like nothing could ever get to him. Hiro then remembered Dashi talking to him about 'Stranger Danger' and stepped back a little. Dashi might know this guy, but Hiro wasn't going to be taking any chances. Fred smiled at him, the 'It's okay, I'm your friend' expression. "It's okay, I don't bite. Just a guy in a suit."

Close enough.

Hiro still didn't look directly at him, it wasn't like looking at his brother. How could he talk to him? What comes after saying hi? He flinched when he saw an arm reaching out towards him, but almost sighed with relief when it stopped just an arm's length in front of him. A handshake. That's what he wants. Hiro held out his own hand and felt it clasped in a somewhat tight grip. Fred shook his hand once and let it go, crouching down to eye level now.

"My name's Fred." He said. Hiro didn't want to look directly at him, but he still got a good look at his face hidden in-between the flap where the costume's mouth was. Long, big nose, no sign of pimples, brown hair that was mostly covered by a green hat with eyes on it. Hiro crinkled his nose when he started smelling something bad.

 _Gross!_  Hiro thought.  _Did he ever hear of_   _bathing_?!

"Fred's our school mascot." Dashi said. He looked at Fred when the older boy stood up. "Nice to see the great Fredzilla back on campus."

"Don't you have class with Aquino about now?"

"Cancelled." Dashi shrugged. "Long story and I don't know the details."

"So, I'm  _finally_ meeting that famous bro of yours now?" Fred looked at Hiro with interest.

"Dashi, he smells." Hiro said bluntly. Dashi groaned while Fred looked at him funny for a moment. The next thing he knew, Hiro was hearing Fred and Dashi talking over each other at once. Dashi going into his 'lecture' voice while Fred speaking in a 'I don't take much offense to that' voice. Hiro heard Aunt Cass talk like that a few times before to know the difference.

" – Hiro Hamada! That is  _not_  a nice thing to say! You shouldn't be saying things like that –"

"– that's not me, it's my clothes. Haven't washed them in a few months –"

" – how many times do we have to go through this?! You CAN'T say whatever's on your mind without thinking about it! –"

" – I  _do_  wash them after a few months –"

" – remember to try  _filtering_  your words, you're going to get a lot of people mad in the future if this keeps happening –"

" – sometimes, I don't even change underwear…"

Dashi stopped lecturing Hiro and stared at Fred with wide eyes. Hiro completely forgot how red his face was becoming from the rant and looked at the mascot-costumed man as well.

"What." Hiro said.

"It's true, my baseball cap compadre and baby brother of said baseball cap compadre." Fred nodded with a semi-serious look on his face. "I go front, back, inside out, then front and back again."

Hiro covered his mouth in disgust, his gag reflex kicking in. Dashi looked a little amused now.

"Gross." Dashi nodded. "But interesting."

Fred looked at Hiro with concern. "You okay, little dude?"

Hiro shook his head and backed away, wiping the hand he used to shake hands with on his sweater. What if he doesn't wash his hands?!

"Okay, that's enough, Hiro." Dashi frowned. "No need to be over-dramatic."

"But he doesn't wash his  _clothes_!"

"Hiro!" Dashi snapped at him. Hiro stopped talking altogether. "Apologize to Fred, now!"

"M'sorry." Hiro mumbled.

"Louder, Hiro, Fred and I can't hear you." Dashi said sternly.

"I'M SORRY!" Hiro said loudly, getting some weird looks from bystanders. Dashi sighed and muttered 'unbelievable' under his breath.

"Tadashi, don't worry about." Fred bent over and started picking up the broken plate. "He's a kid, you can always count of them to tell the truth."

"That doesn't mean it's appropriate –" Dashi began but Fred continued.

"Believe me, I've dealt with worse."

Hiro shuffled awkwardly in place while this took place, wanting to get another plate of food and forget it ever happened. But with the 'I'm so disappointed in you' look Dashi was giving him, Hiro doubted that he could accomplish what he wanted without the risk of getting another lecture when they finally sat down.

"Mid if I join you two?" Fred asked.

Dashi looked at Hiro and then at Fred.  _He's going to say no._  Hiro thought glumly.  _He's going to want to lecture me about what comes out of my mouth_ again!  _I can't help it!_

"Sure."

Hiro looked at Dashi with his mouth gaping open. That was  _not_  what he was expecting to come out of his brother's mouth. Didn't he want to get the lecture over and done with as soon as possible? Didn't he want to tell Hiro for the thousandth time that he didn't want him to keep on saying whatever came to mind? Where was this coming from?

Another thought came to Hiro as he found himself being guided over to the nearest table. This was the first time he ever met a friend of Dashi's. Ever. He was still too young for school by the time Dashi graduated from high school and Dashi never brought any friends over to play. Fred was Dashi's friend, so why was this the first time he was meeting or even  _hearing_ about the smelly kid?

He didn't notice another tray of food was placed right in from of him, not even that it had more fruit and some orange juice on it. How many of Dashi's friends did he ever meet? Zero. How many times did his big brother ever  _mention_ something that happened between himself and a friend? Zero. All this time, Hiro assumed he and Dashi didn't have any friends aside from each other. After all, who else could you trust but family…and your cat? But now, he had a whole bucket full of questions; anyone else Dashi knew and hung out with, why he never told his own little brother, if he even wanted Hiro to know anything else about him.

What was going on?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said in the beginning that Hiro would be more of a brat, and part of it is based off his age. Eight year olds aren't always going to be cute kids wanting nothing but cuddles and kisses. This isn't a Batman fanfiction with a cute!Robin who should CLEARLY be dealing with heavy trauma after just losing his parents, and NOT automatically calling Bruce 'Daddy' or still seeking cuddles in a fashion that wouldn't suit someone more mature than that.
> 
> Another part is because Hiro is different. It has been implied in previous chapters before, but I really wanted to show it now instead of being like Stephenie Meyer and just telling you what a character is like instead of demonstrating it happening. Notice how he automatically said the first thing that came to his mind and can't think in a different perspective when prompted to.
> 
> The fanfics I read involving a younger!Hiro just make him into this cute, sweet, sensitive kid who has brains as opposed to the anti-social Hiro we saw in the film version. Can't change one thing and expect everything else to stay the same, after all. Thus, Hiro became 8 instead of 14 with his usual IQ at the cost of making him more awkward around others. Might fit a bit more closely to the manga adaptation from what I saw, but I can't be certain.
> 
> Why is it that Hiro saw his future teammates for the first time ever and never gave any hints to knowing about them before? Surely, he must have been thinking 'Why has my bro talked to his friends about me but I NEVER heard about them?' at the time.
> 
> Please comment below. I appreciate feedback on characters, story and plot development, and anything else that comes to mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me for the long absence. There was so much going on that kept me busy and away from the library (my one place where the muse and I can chat easily). School will take priority, I'm afraid, so my hope is to at least get an update done once or twice a month. I hope you all understand. And since I'm entering my senior year of college, I'll be pretty busy. My hope now is for each chapter to average 3k, unless it has a lot of major stuff happen.
> 
> Since this is the chapter introducing Honey Lemon, the only bit of potential action is towards the end. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: All Rights to Big Hero 6 Belong to Marvel Comics and Walt Disney Studios. All Rights to Star Wars Belong to LucasFilms and Walt Disney Studios. All Rights to Zootopia Belong to Walt Disney Studios. All Rights to Love Hina Belong to Ken Akamatsu.

 

Breakfast back home turned out to be a bad move, he should have let Heathcliff cook him something. All of that sugar and Fred was  _still_  a little hungry. There wasn't much use crying over spilt milk now, since he helped himself to some potato hash in the cafeteria. It wasn't like Heathcliff's version, but at least it made his stomach calm down a little. Fred drank a cup of water to wash down the grease and salt before redirecting his attention to the two people in front of him.

Tadashi wolfed down the tray of food he brought over, unaware that the young boy to his left was doing the exact same thing at a slightly slower pace. Fred smirked; the same genius Hamada that lectured Fred on his eating habits was devouring everything on his plate faster. Talk about bad manners…

Hiro suddenly started coughing and Fred instinctively rushed over to the other side of the table just as Tadashi began thumping his back with an open palm. A moment later, Hiro spat something out of his mouth, a large chunk of apple. Fred saw the fruit with the large bite mark, the flesh hastily ripped apart by teeth.

"Breathe, Hiro, take deep breaths." Tadashi looked over Hiro nervously while the boy did as he was told. He handed Hiro a glass filled with water, and watched carefully as the boy gulped down the drink quickly.

"Thanks." Hiro muttered quietly. He paused and looked up at Fred, who slowly walked back to his side of the table and tried acting as if nothing had occurred a moment ago.

"Just be more careful, buddy. I know you're hungry." Tadashi said as he picked up his fork and began scooping eggs into his mouth more slowly. Hiro mimed the actions, much to the approval of his big brother.

 _Man,_  Fred thought enviously,  _I wish_ I  _had a little brother. Or an older brother. And superpowers. I wish I had a brother_ with  _superpowers. That would be so freaking cool!_

"Anything happen last night, Tadashi?" He asked out loud. Tadashi looked up from his food, chewing slowly and swallowing. "You…kind of left early. Don't you basically live in your lab?"

Tadashi smirked with a raised eyebrow. "I have a life outside of college, Fred. It just so happens I left early to hang out with my bro."

Fred turned his gaze at Hiro, who didn't notice and continued to help himself to some hash browns piled up with enough ketchup to almost completely cover the crisp potato. Two feet away was probably the ketchup bottle used, the cover hastily put on and looked like it was bleeding. Several used napkins surrounded it, covered in sticky red.

"Yo, little dude." Hiro jumped in his seat at Fred's calling. The young boy stared at Fred's chest, like he was afraid of what would happen if he looked directly in the eye. Fred tried talking more gently. "So…anything exciting happen last night? Watch a cool movie? Play a video game? Anything?"

"I went Bot-fighting, but the guy I was facing got really mad and started chasing me, Dashi, some girl Dashi knew and this weird robot –"

His mouth was quickly covered by Tadashi, who started speaking a little frantically. " _Let's_  not talk about that, no one really needs to know about that."

"Bu hts wh hppnd…" Hiro said over Tadashi's hand.

"That's still not something to talk about." Tadashi said in an exasperated tone. "Why don't you tell him what you like?"

The moment Tadashi pulled his hand away from Hiro's mouth, Hiro automatically said,

"I like Bot-fighting."

"Cool." Fred grinned. "What robot do you use? I know there's this cool piece on sale at –"

He frowned as Tadashi mouthed  _Don't encourage him_  while Hiro looked at him with excited eyes. Fred continued. "So uh…what kind of robot do you use?"

If he knew that talking about robots would get Hiro to look at him in the eye, Fred would have said he was part robot if it got the kid invested. Just hearing Hiro talk so fast and excited made him forget that he was just a shy little kid a moment ago. The words came out of his mouth so quickly that some of them came out jumbled.

"Dashiand I madeit together. I call it Megabot 'cause its supercool and its mega awesome! Ittook like sixmonths to make, Ithink." Hiro took a deep breath and continued. "It's made up of three pieces that stick together and moveonthegroundbythemselveslikeasnake and that's great cause in Bot-fighting, you gotta keep your robotfrom being smashed to bits and it's pretty hard to beat Megabot since its three pieces and theycan come on and off since they're magnetic andits really really really cool, Dashi, can I show him?"

"Huh?" Tadashi blinked when he heard his name and it took a few moments for him to respond. "Sorry, buddy. I didn't bring Megabot with me."

"Why not?" Hiro whined.

"Because I'm not letting you use it after last night, remember?" Tadashi sighed.

"That bad, huh?" Fred winced sympathetically.

"No one was hurt and that's all you need to know." Tadashi said, and the conversation was dropped altogether. Hiro started looking away awkwardly, that fire Fred saw in his eyes already doused.

 _What to do…_  Fred thought.  _He looks pretty scared, but I can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to. Alright, Freddie, you've babysat kids before, this should be a piece of cake to figure out._

"What else do you like?" Fred asked.

"Stuff." Hiro mumbled.

Fred felt like sighing, but pressed on gently. He'd dealt with kids like him before, after all. "Stuff, huh? Do you like dogs?"

Hiro shook his head. "Mochi doesn't like them and they bark loud."

"Who's Mochi?"

"Our cat." Hiro said simply.

"Huh." This was the first Fred heard about a cat. Was this the Rocket Cat that Tadashi said gave him nightmares? "How old is he? Mochi, I mean."

"Seven years old." Hiro said automatically.

"So, you like cats, then?"

"I like Mochi, but he's family."

"Lions?"

"No."

"Tigers?"

"Uh-uh."

"Bears?"  _Oh my!_  Fred thought automatically. Why does that line have to be so memorable?

"Yeah!" Fred's eyes grew big at that eager response. "They're big and strong and they eat fish. Their scientific name is  _Ursidae_ , like that weird bear on Dashi's game with that circle around its chest. I really wanted to get one, but I didn't have the same game or anything to play on it."

"It's a classic." Tadashi mumbled, but Fred could see him smiling.

"You know it used to be a tiny Teddy bear?" Fred asked. Hiro nodded rapidly. "It's really cute, isn't it?"

"I know, and its paws are always covered in honey."

"Where did you learn that?" Fred asked.

"I looked it up on the internet. There's this candy that looks like it, but we can't buy it around here. I think its somewhere in Russia?"

Hiro looked to Tadashi for clarification and only got another shrug in response. Fred helped himself to the rest of his hash while the two brothers resumed with their meals. He already finished a minute later and stood up from the table. As he brought his tray up to the conveyor belt, desperate for something to do while his two companions finished their meals at a slower pace than himself, Fred didn't notice the people he was accidentally tripping over with his costume.

"Yo!"

Fred turned around, seeing a group of people walking in, the one in front obviously the leader and raising his hand out to give a high five. Fred used his costumed hand and connected it with the leader's.

"This," the leader said to the group, "is our mascot, the Terrible Terror, played by Fred. Any questions or just want to say hi, he's your guy."

Fred grinned and lowered the top half of the Terror's mouth over his head and shouted. "GO TERRIBLE TERRORS!"

A few people cheered in response while on-goers gave him odd looks. He saw Tadashi shaking his head with a small grin on his face while Hiro just stared. A tall girl walking in stopped and gave a big smile, waving frantically at him. If his costume wasn't covering his face, she would have seen the large grin in return.

Long, honey-blonde hair that reached down to her waist. A yellow hairband keeping the mass from spilling over her face. Large glasses with pink rims. Tan skin. And with a long-sleeved yellow blouse with matching pants to complete the outfit.

"Freddie!" The girl squealed. She quickly gave her card to one of the people at the register before it was returned to her, and jogged over to Fred. Fred could see Hiro staring at the girl in awe, leaning towards his older brother to whisper something in his ear. Whatever it was, Tadashi was nodding in agreement.

Fred called out in greeting. "What's up, Honey Lemon?"

Honey Lemon lunged out to him and gave him a bone-cracking hug – not that he would ever admit it.

Tadashi and Hiro came over with their empty trays in hand, Hiro not taking his eyes off Honey Lemon. Fred tapped her on the shoulder and pointed behind them. She turned around and squealed in delight.

"Tadashi!" Honey Lemon said gaily before noticing Hiro. "Oh. My. Gosh. YOU MUST BE HIRO!"

"Hi." Hiro said weakly, his face blushing a little. He flinched when Honey Lemon knelt down – while wearing platform shoes, no less – and wrapped her arms around him in greeting. She planted a kiss on each cheek and stood up again, not noticing Hiro wiping his face while glaring at a laughing Tadashi.

"Your brother talks about you a lot." Honey Lemon continued. "Hold on, I need to get something to eat. I'm  _starving!_ "

She walked off while Hiro found his voice and spoke up. Fred noticed that there was a bit of hurt behind it while the boy spoke.

"How come you never tell me about your friends?"

"Uh…" Tadashi hesitated. "I…didn't think it was important."

"But…." Hiro paused, like he was trying to find the right words to say. "I never…hear anything about them. And you told them about me. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just said I didn't think it was important. I mean, if it ever came up, I would have said something." Tadashi said. He knelt down to look at Hiro in the eye. "Sorry, bud."

Hiro shrugged. "It's fine."

But there was an edge in his voice that said differently.

"What do you think of Honey Lemon?" Fred asked, wanting to be in the conversation. Both Hamada brothers turned their gaze towards him with differing looks on their face; Tadashi looked at him oddly, Hiro looked at him like he wanted the same cookie he did. The latter look quickly faded away, leaving Hiro with a small smile on his face as he looked down. He looked up again, but wasn't looking at Fred this time.

"She's pretty…" Hiro stared off after Honey Lemon.

"You think so?" Tadashi smirked.

"I never heard of anyone named Honey Lemon." Hiro added with childish amusement. Fred silently chuckled at this, knowing that the boy would be in for a surprise when he met the others. If that would happen, that is.

* * *

_Turn around._

Cars bustled by them, honking horns at whoever had offended them. The sun was shining brightly in the distance, forcing her to walk in whatever shade she could find and cover her eyes if there wasn't any shadow to walk under.

BB-8 kept quiet while they walked. Rey silently wished that she had brought along something with them, maybe the baseball bat from her apartment. But that would have brought up the question of how she could bring it into the police station without drawing attention to herself or get in trouble.

 _Turn around_.

Rey frowned, ignoring the feeling coming over her. She started mapping out the rest of the walk, mentally counting how many miles it was from where they were now – which was near a trolley station – to their destination. It did occur to her that using the trolley would be faster than walking, but BB-8 shot down that idea with several loud chirps and beeps. He didn't want other people to see him after last night.

Of course, he was forgetting that they were walking in plain view, but there was no way Rey could make the droid see reason. Of course, they weren't exactly walking in plain view, sticking somewhere between alleys and actual streets in the hopes that no one would stop and look at the pair.

_Turn around._

She couldn't put her finger on it, but she couldn't help but keep hearing some sort of warning, like a whisper to the wind. It crept in the back of her mind and almost buzzed, growing louder and louder the more she would ignore it.

On any other day, Rey would listen to her 'sixth sense' and turn back. But on any other day, she wouldn't have BB-8 with her, she wouldn't have something that took priority, she wouldn't be certain if she could come back and try again later.

It was that same 'feeling' that always told her to keep her guard up around Plutt and avoid talking to others. The same 'feeling' that gave her a broad idea of what people she met were somewhat trustworthy. If it always proved to be the right action in the end, why should this be the first time to ignore it? Rey sighed, knowing that her decision wasn't going to have pretty results.

"BB-8, I think we need to go back." Her voice was quiet, but urgent.

Automatically chirping and beeping loudly – Rey stepped back a little when she saw him extend something that looked like a taser from his body – BB-8 wheeled around in a circle before going off in the same direction they were heading previously.

"That idiot." Rey cursed under her breath. She ran off after him, the mental buzzing now coming back in full force.

She managed to catch up to BB-8 waiting by a stop sign. Rey looked down at her arms and back to BB-8, hoping that she wasn't going mental. Getting behind the droid was the easy part, wrapping her arms around him and lifting him off the ground was the real challenge.

A spoiled child would have been brought to shame with the behavior BB-8 started demonstrating. He chirped and beeped and zapped – Rey nearly lost her grip a few times – at his handler in protest with little success. Rey felt her burden lighten a little, paying more attention to the zapping robot 'squirming' in her arms.

"BB-8," Rey gritted her teeth, "I can't explain why, but you have to trust me on this one! Please!"

She could feel something coming towards them, but she wasn't sure what it was. One of the major downsides of this 'feeling' was that it lacked specific detail, leaving Rey to just guess most of the time. Sometimes, things happened around her that Rey wasn't able to understand. But she had neither the time nor the opportunity to try exploring this idea any further.

With a grunt, Rey started jogging the other way with BB-8 still in her arms somehow. She could hear an engine behind her, coming closer and closer before she saw a car drive  _in front of her_ , blocking the sidewalk.

 _Let's see,_  Rey thought, _next thing to happen is someone – most likely a man – coming out of the car and acting as if they – or he – owns the place._

Someone stepped out of the car, dressed in an orange jacket –  _that's something you don't see everyday_ , Rey thought – and brown jeans. Their head was covered, but Rey could still see stubble on his chin.

He spoke with a bit of an accent – either Scottish or Irish, Rey always thought that they both sounded similar to one another. "Hello, missy. Nice day for a walk."

 _Why am I not surprised?_ Rey mentally sighed at the predictability.

"That's a nice droid you got there." He said with a friendly grin. BB-8 chirped loudly in fright, finally realizing that listening to Rey earlier would have been a good idea. Rey didn't place BB-8 down or relax in the slightest; obviously, this man was connected to the black market. People like him were always connected to crime and violence somehow.

So far, he didn't have anybody else come out of the car. That must have meant that he doubted she could get far if she was desperate enough to protect BB-8.

 _I don't know anything about this droid._ A voice echoed in her head.  _Why should I put myself at risk for a complete stranger?_

 _He helped us find Tadashi's little brother yesterday._ Rey argued back.  _As far as BB-8 knew, there wasn't anything to get from that. He_ trusts _us, he took his chances when we met! We don't even know what this man wants._

 _Ah, yes, a car drives onto the sidewalk and is blocking our way._ Clearly _, they're just asking for directions._

"You alright there, girlie?" The man's slightly mocking tone snapped Rey out of her dwelling, the weight in her grasp was starting to show a little.

"I'm fine." Rey lied and made a futile effort to move past the man. That was when two more people got in front of her, a man and a woman with red hair like their apparent leader.

The man she was speaking to moved in front of the two newcomers with his arms crossed, sounding a little irritated. "Now come on, we don't want no trouble. Just trying to conduct a little business. Interested in getting that droid off your hands?"

BB-8 chirped in fright once more.

"No." Rey said calmly. "Happy?"

"Not even for a little money? Ten grand?"

"No." Rey repeated with a little heat.

"Twenty?"

"Forcing me to say yes isn't consent." Rey said more fiercely.

The man held his arms out in an expression of peace. "Just name it. Lots of people want that scrap metal and I'd rather take it off your hands in a trade than have it ripped from your still cooling corpse."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typically don't try to talk about what's going on in the story in my notes since it would be better to let the narrative tell it. I will give some brief analysis regarding character interpretations and observations from their original works, so let this commence the first official character study.
> 
> Shout Outs: Training Day (2001) (Judy's first meeting with Bogo and the day she spent with him ((see chapter 3)), even dropped a line from the movie), Moana (2016) (Hiro saying Baymax could do everything but float, also a line that the Rock has said ((see chapter 4))), How to Train Your Dragon (Fred's costume is apparently a reference to either the Terrible Terrors or Hideous Zippleback, but I decided that the Terrible Terror resembled his costume a lot better) ((see chapter 6, ie this one)), Pokemon Gold and Silver (Hiro is describing Teddiursa - he loves gummy bears, so why not?)
> 
> Tadashi Hamada: Everyone seems to love this guy, even though he was only in Act 1 of Big Hero 6. I like him too and wished that there was at least one hug between him and Hiro (then again, we have too many hug scenes that make the moments not as great. Not to mention, hugs are a recurring element in the story arc and represent healing). A criticism regarding his character is that Tadashi is too nice and not fleshed out, but one theory is that we are examining Tadashi through Hiro's perceptive, which makes sense because Hiro is in every scene in the movie much like Jake Gittes is in Chinatown.
> 
> So far, I seem to be making him a little harsher than usual in my attempt to make him treat Hiro the same as canon!Hiro. Maybe that's my experiences with my older brothers coming onto the pages. Tadashi seems to try putting the best foot forward towards most of what he does, but that also means he doesn't want many people seeing his worst moments and ends up holding some bitter thoughts in, and he doesn't ever want to express them because Tadashi is also a compassionate person. Instead of adding fuel to the flames with his growing conflict with Naru, he tries being reasonable no matter how hard it is. For the most part, he is rewarded with Naru trying to extend an olive branch in return. Of course, with Hiro, he has a harder time since he is simultaneously trying to help his little brother. There is no doubt that Tadashi loves Hiro, the little kid just drives him up the wall sometimes and the poor guy knows Hiro can't help it.
> 
> Rey: Everyone's favorite heroine since Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. What makes her so impressive to begin with? I'd like to say it's her optimism in The Force Awakens, which is also her biggest flaw. She is desperate for her family to come claim her, even to the point of ignoring chances to leave Jakku. Rey does have this sense of naivete about her, but she is far from oblivious. She is also secretive and doesn't open up well, despite taking personal risks for people she barely knows. The first time we see her vulnerable isn't when she is being interrogated/mind-raped by Kylo Ren, it's her vision when she grabs Luke's lightsaber. She is hiding all of this pain behind a mask of hope. I think what makes her controversial and popular at the same time is the times she takes action. Some call her a Mary Sue, but that can be interpreted as succeeding with ease. And she rarely does.
> 
> For this story, she is more down to earth regarding the situation with her family, whether or not they appear (personally speaking, I doubt they will since Rey's story arc is about moving on and helping her new family of friends). It was hinted that she had an unconscious connection to the Force in one of the animated shorts, so I am incorporating that into the story as well. Right now, she just calls it a sixth sense that she has no idea on how to manage. It acts as a Spider Sense and helps her when she needs it the most, like when she is carrying BB-8.
> 
> That's all the time I have for character analysis, maybe those should be separate chapters on their own.
> 
> In the writing world, I will see you.
> 
> Greensword101


	7. Courses and Debates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Did we ever find out what kind of classes Tadashi and his friends took at the SFIT? If not, all rights to Big Hero 6 belong to Marvel Comics and Walt Disney Studios.

Hiro scribbled down notes on a piece of paper while the teacher lectured. He could feel someone leaning over to look at what he was doing, maybe they thought he was doing a drawing, and then there was tapping on his shoulder.

He turned his head, locking eyes with some man with a beard. He didn't really care for details unless they stood out, everything seemed to be pretty generic on the surface. But if someone were to ask him later, well…he  _could_  say that the person who was tapping on his shoulder was at least shorter than Dashi and looked like he was almost 30 years old with dirty blonde hair and had a beard covering his face with a pudgy body. And if someone were to ask him why that man was tapping on his shoulder in the first place, Hiro would have said it was because the man accidentally dropped a pencil and it landed around the area Hiro was sitting.

But that would have been a waste of time.

Engineering. He never realized what a class like that would look like. It seemed so… _boring_! They weren't looking at pieces of equipment or building things, or even studying some diagram. It was just a discussion on what chapters were supposed to have been read.

Linear Engineering, Human-Automation Interaction – Hiro thought that might be related to Baymax somehow - Chemical and Engineering Thermodynamics, Data and Processing, Theory of Robotics. Those were the classes on Dashi's schedule for the spring semester. When Hiro got to the Theory of Robotics section, Dashi's eyes grew wide and he had a goofy grin on his face.

Okay, the names did make the classes sound boring on paper – well, most of them – but Hiro was picking things up and scribbling as much as he could with the paper and pencil Dashi gave him.  _Just in case._ He said. And now Hiro had half a mind to just look for the book the teacher was talking about and read it. Because even if there were things he understood between what the teacher said, what was put on the board, and what other students were adding, Hiro still needed something to follow along with.

 _Why am I doing this?_  Hiro thought.  _This isn't what I said earlier! College should be boring, this should be stuff I know already._

And the worst part? He was going to have to take back that comment he made about teachers telling him things he already knew. At least his brother wouldn't grin, saying in a sing-song voice, "I told you so." Mechanics of Solids and Structures was a pretty good title, too. It felt…advanced, for lack of a better word.

Aside from things he picked up on while making Megabot, there was still plenty of topics that he didn't know about that opened a lot of possibilities. He could make a better Megabot. Better 'back-up' plans in case someone tried to hurt him. Better Rocket Cats!

His evil chuckle was a little too loud for nobody to notice, unfortunately.

"Um…young man, are you alright?" The teacher – who Dashi briefly told that Hiro was going to be joining them for a class and to treat him like any other student – looked at him nervously. His scruffy grey beard and glasses reminded Hiro of an owl.

"Just thinking of something funny." Hiro put on an innocent face, using the tired refrain he used in high school to get people off his back. He could feel people staring at him.  _Please leave me alone_ , he thought,  _I don't want any trouble._

"Well, keep it down, please."

Dashi was on his left and Honey Lemon to his right, meaning that he had the two of them looking at him with different expressions. Dashi had his ' _I have a bad feeling about this_ ' look, while Honey Lemon's open mouth and raised eyebrow meant she was thinking ' _Okay, maybe this kid isn't that normal and cute like I thought he was_ '.

Then again, he wasn't a mind reader. It wouldn't be the first time he read someone the wrong way. Like with Naru and how she went red in the face when Hiro told her to get a room the last time she and Dashi were arguing behind Aunt Cass's back. At first, he thought she was embarrassed, but then she started looking at Dashi like she wanted to kill him. And then, Hiro started backing away slowly, because there was no way he wanted to see her get mad for real. And that's when his brother tried getting him to "play" with the other kids. He suddenly remembered the taste of copper in his mouth and attempted to spit out the taste before he remembered that it wasn't there to begin with.

Would Honey Lemon become like Naru if she was angry? They did look a  _bit_  alike…

The only difference was that Honey Lemon smiled, Naru didn't. She always looked like she had eaten a lemon whole whenever Hiro was in the room, but there was some….what was the word? Hiro bit his lip, trying to figure out the best way to describe it.

There was something on her face that…that looked like there was something else. The way he can see stuff in Dashi's eyes – not tears, his big brother  _never_  cried! – that was saying something different? Not like expressions he has a hard time reading, more like seeing that a person is thinking something else.

What was he thinking about again? Oh, right, Naru. There was some look in her eye that Hiro couldn't help but think she was hurting somehow.

He remembered the teacher talking and looked up, hearing a question asked and making an effort  _not_  to raise his hand. He felt Honey Lemon raise her own and barely registered her answer. This was a bad idea…

The teacher called on someone else, and the response didn't appear to be satisfactory either. He was tuning everything out. The teacher began choosing people to answer the question, even those who weren't raising their hands.  _Please don't choose me,_ he thought,  _please don't randomly choose me. I want to be left alone…please don't choose me, please…_ He saw the teacher looking at him and knew what was going to happen.

"Um…where's the bathroom?" Hiro said quietly. Several people turned to him and he realized it wasn't as quiet as he had hoped. His face growing hot, his stomach feeling weird, he was thankful when he felt Dashi guide him out of his seat. The teacher didn't seem to notice as they exited the classroom, and Hiro exhaled deeply.

Dashi looked at him, gnawing at his lip.

"You doing okay, buddy?"

Hiro shook his head. It was a  _really_  bad idea. He didn't want all of the attention again…

His body twitched a little, his eyes growing a little hot from the tears welling up.

Dashi noticed. He felt him kneel to his level and place his arms gently on his shoulders. "Breathe, buddy, just breathe."

Hiro tried, coughing a little, blaming it on his cold. This was a bad  _bad_ idea.

The hands left his shoulders and wrapped around his back. Hiro buried his face in Dashi's neck, numbly aware of the rocking motion, his legs dangling in the air for a moment before an arm came underneath them and cradled them too.

"Shhhh, everything's fine."

Hiro wrapped his arms around Dashi's chest, refusing to cry. A few tears were already making a mess of his face, but he wasn't sobbing. He was just breathing really fast. A few more minutes and he'd be fine.

The door squeaked open and an "Oh."

"Honey, what's up?"

"Um…I was, uh, just getting a drink. These lectures go on forever." She chuckled nervously. "Is…Hiro alright?"

The 'r' in Hiro rolled off her tongue a little.

"Yeah, he's just really nervous around big crowds." Dashi spoke up for him. Hiro didn't say anything and clenched at Dashi's jacket. His sweater started feeling really uncomfortable now. He started struggling in his brother's grasp, grateful that the message was received. When his feet met the ground again, Hiro reluctantly let go of Dashi and took a deep breath.

"Okay." He said to himself. Deep breaths. He looked up Dashi and Honey Lemon. "Can we get back inside?"

"Sure."

"And Dashi?"

"Yeah?"

Hiro looked down. "Could you…make sure…no one looks at me?"  _I don't want trouble_.

A gentle hand ruffled through his hand. "What are bros for?"

* * *

The swish of the cape behind him, a sense of urgency in his step. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. The interrogation did nothing to calm him, but the information gathered was better than nothing at the moment. Like the blind leading the blind.

How wonderful.

His breathing had hitched, his hand itching towards the circular handle attached to his belt. But this was not the place and there would be damaged beyond repair caused if he didn't maintain it for the moment.

Corridors were empty, save for the occasional Stormtrooper decked in white plating. They practically scurried at the sight of him. A small grin would usually creep onto his face, something to look back on when thinking about how the day went. This was not one of those days.

He turned left, a door splitting in half for him to walk through. Inside was a circular room filled with monitors and a view of the outside. Clouds were puffy and stretched on for miles, sunlight shining off them. At this time, the sun must be right on top of them, drifting in the west to relocate themselves.

Hux was standing in the back, arms folded behind, eyes scanning for any error that a technician might make – something that happened more often than not.

He spoke, the helmet altering his voice to an unrecognizable droll. "Commander."

Hux craned his head to the right, gazing at him in scrutiny. His voice was harsh, and intimidating to the common Stormtrooper. "What do you want, Kylo Ren?"

"The pilot gave the data to a droid, two hours before he was captured. He knew something would happen."

Hux scowled at the news. He snarled. "That thing could be anywhere by now."

"Not quite." Kylo Ren said. "The pilot's memories suggest the droid is locating someone in the city."

"We're still left with a trail of breadcrumbs." Hux turned away, his interest waning. "Thank you for informing me of something I already suspected."

Kylo Ren started walking away, his vision growing a little red at the disrespect shown. "I'll gather the troops – "

"No, you won't." The way Hux said that so dismissively – almost mockingly – broke the last bit of control Kylo Ren had on his temper. He reached for the handle on his belt and withdrew it, pointing it at Hux as red energy shot out of it. Hux barely flinched at the plasma blade several inches away from cutting his nose off.

"You may have favor with our leader," he began slowly, but calmly, "but  _I'm_ still in charge around here. Sending troops out into the city will only draw attention towards ourselves. We're outnumbered and the raid last night is being investigated. Sending our men to find one robot in a large city will only bring the authorities on top of us."

"Then how do we get the droid, then?"

Hux smiled bitterly. "We don't. We get someone else to get it for us. You haven't forgotten about our contacts, have you?"

Kylo Ren could hear the buzzing of the monitors and the humming of the ship. His breath slowed until he began to notice the sweat forming on his masked face.  _Of course._  He begrudgingly realized.  _Agents spread out to hide among the crowd. They can do a better job than our men could._

"Now, if you could kindly lower that  _thing_ …"

He pressed a button, and the red plasma sunk back into its handle. Kylo Ren returned it to its place on its holster and began walking away.

Hux called to him. "I highly suggest you stay out of this nonsense until absolutely necessary. Just because you have something to prove doesn't mean you get special treatment."

He walked away, his temper rising again until he made it into the hallway. Red light glowed again as he started slashing at one of the walls closest to him.

Behind him, he could sense two Stormtroopers coming towards him before stopping and going in the opposite direction.

* * *

Crumbs trailed on the table, a small pile collecting that the cat wasted no time licking up. Sugary dough filled her cheeks, she could taste the honey-glazed layer in-between bites. Beside her was a young woman with pale-brown hair, sipping her cup of cappuccino with a Cheshire grin on her face. Another donut found its way in her grasp and she took a big bite, taking in the chocolate frosting on top as she chewed it. She swallowed the pastry and took a chug of the water bottle that she purchased.

She took care to make sure nothing stained her school uniform, covering her blue and white blouse with a large napkin wrapped around her neck and giving the same treatment for her skirt as well.

The woman at the counter tentatively walked towards them, her eyes shining with a familiar gaze that Su often saw in her mother when she was younger.

"Um…do you…find everything alright, miss?" The woman asked.

Su gave a big smile. "Everything is wonderful, thank you!"

The compliment didn't mollify the woman that much, her grin a tad too hesitant to Su's liking. She made a note to get her something later, something to help her loosen up a little bit. Maybe a mecha-tama, something to help her. If it made her smile, that would be enough for Su.

"Don't worry 'bout Su, ma'am." Her companion said in a Texan accent. Unlike Su, she made no real effort to keep her purple turtleneck from getting crumbs all over it, the remnants of the éclair she ordered still sticking in some places. "Su's got the belly of three grown pigs with room to spare."

"I can see that." The woman said dryly. She looked at the cat on the table and said in a lighter tone. "At least Mochi's having a good time."

The cat named Mochi perked up at hearing its name and leaped off the table towards the woman. Su pouted for a moment before finishing the chocolate-covered donut in two more bites.

 _So delicious!_  Su thought.  _How could Naru keep this from Su? That was very mean!_

"Miss, these were the best donuts I've ever eaten!" Su said loudly.

The woman chuckled a little, her smile more relaxed now. "Thank you. Is your school nearby? I wouldn't want you to be late on account of lunch time."

She looked out one of the windows and muttered. "In fact, I'm expecting someone here by now."

"School?" Su frowned. She looked to her friend. "Kitsune, I thought you said this was a personal day."

Kitsune's grin grew wider. "That I did, hun. Never said it was a personal day for you."

The woman's eyes widened, Kitsune's smile not soothing her that much. Su considered this for a moment…and then drank the rest of the water from her bottle. "Could I also take two boxes to go?"

"Um…."

"Don't worry, I have money." Su pulled out her wallet and withdrew another large wad of cash. "Keep the change."

The woman looked at the money offered to her as if it were a sight she never saw before. She didn't even respond when Su poked the money into her hands, even ignoring Su as she gently pried her fingers apart and closed them again around the money.

"Lady?" Su waved a hand over the woman's eyes.

"I think you broke her, Su." Kitsune muttered quietly. She looked around and said. "What're y'all looking at?"

Su quickly noticed the other customers snapping their gaze back towards their drinks, treats, and gossip. Why were they looking at them? A smile came over her face.  _Of course_ , she thought,  _we must be popular with them already._ That's  _why they were looking at us._

"Come on, Su." Kitsune finished her cappuccino and stood up. "We better hightail it outta here 'fore we break anyone else around here."

"Break who now?" A new voice said as the café's door chimed open. Young and high-pitched, a little stuffy too. A new playmate for her! Her body quivered at the thought, the voice also sounded familiar, though she couldn't figure out why.

Su saw two boys walking in; the tall one had a hat and black hair, the small boy looked just like the tall one and was walking over to the woman, still frozen in her stance. She looked at the smaller boy, trying to pinpoint why his face looked so familiar. Then she remembered the tall one and an image of Naru scowling came to mind.

"Aunt Cass, we're home." The boy said. He looked into her eyes and spun around to look at Su and Kitsune.

"Alright, which one of you did this?!" The glare reminded Su of Naru. She half-expected him to throw a punch at her, but then realized it wouldn't make sense. Naru only punched people when they were acting perverted.

Whatever that meant.

"You know this lady, sweetie?" Kitsune asked with a kind look on her face, kneeling down to eye-level with him.

"She's our aunt." The taller boy came over. Kitsune turned her attention towards him, the motherly expression quickly becoming sultry and seductive.

Kitsune stood up and leaned in to him. "You must really care about her a lot, then – whoa!"

She briefly lost her balance when the tall boy took a step back, her hand slipping from his shoulder. The tall boy looked a little uncomfortable now, brushing his shoulders slowly. He gave an apologetic look, sheepishly chuckling.

"Personal bubble." He said.

Kitsune pouted, but didn't come towards him again. "Meanie."

"Aunt Cass?" The small boy waved his eyes over her face. He suddenly shouted. "AUNT CASS, I'M GOING BOT-FIGHTING AGAIN!"

No response. The murmuring in the background began to quiet a little. Kitsune shot a glare at anyone staring and the murmuring carried on as usual.

Su perked up in interest. "Bot-fighting?"

The small boy opened his mouth, but the tall one quickly covered it with his hand. "Nonononono, you are  _not_  corrupting someone else!"

"She doesn't need your help, believe me." Kitsune muttered.

"But Kis _uuuun_ e!" Su whined. "I want to know!"

"Nope!" Kitsune grabbed her arm and started dragging Su out of the café. "After what happened last week? We're  _still_  not allowed in the hallway!"

"But I haven't gotten my snacks to go!"

Hearing the word, 'snacks', seemed to have snapped the woman, Cass, out of her trance.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. Zoned out for a moment. Right, uh…two boxes filled with…?"

Su pointed to the display counter with the cookies and strange looking desserts. "One of each treat on the top row, please."

"Got it." Cass went back to the counted, folded two flat cardboard pieces into boxes and started filling them with delicious sweets and cookies. Naru was certain to love the selection. Maybe she could send some to Motoko while she's on her retreat….

"Does that typically happen?" Kitsune muttered quietly to the small boy.

The boy shrugged. "Sometimes. Usually when something weird happens."

"Like Rocket Cat…" The taller boy mumbled.

Now Su was interested. "Do you build things?"

"Um…a little…" The small boy muttered.

"Hiro's been building things since he was three." The tall boy said proudly, placing a hand on Hiro's shoulder. Hiro blushed and ducked his head.

Su held her hand out. "I'm Su, it's nice to meet you again."

Hiro looked up, frowning a little. "Again?"

"The park, remember? You bit someone's arm when they mocked you. Served them right for calling you a freak."

"Oh…" His face went red again, avoiding her gaze.

Su continued, seeing how embarrassed he was at being praised. "Su liked seeing you take care of those meanies by yourself. I bet you're pretty tough."

Hiro didn't say anything, and Su pouted when the tall boy stepped in-between the two with a frown on his face. She was starting to suspect why Naru didn't like him that much in the first place; the look on his face and the way Hiro just accepted it showed how much he didn't like fun.

"Come on, Su, leave 'im be." Kitsune stepped in as well, the traitor that she was. No one seemed to want Su to have any fun today! "Can't you see how uncomfortable you're makin' 'im?"

She was  _not_  making him uncomfortable, Su was certain Hiro was just embarrassed by the compliment. People tended to do that on tv shows a lot, especially in those lovey-dovey stories that Naru and Kitsune loved watching together sometimes. Su's favorite was the one about the man in the coma and the girl who was mistaken for his fiancé. Now  _that_  girl in the movie could relate to Hiro with how they acted around others.

Before she could try getting in-between the two party poopers – one of which, she lived with – Cass came back with the boxes.

"Don't overdo it, you hear me?" Cass said in a scolding tone. "I don't want you getting a stomachache."

Su accepted the two pink boxes, handed the top one to Kitsune and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll share them."

Cass smiled. "Good. Now promise me not to skip school again. Education's important."

Hearing the word, 'education', seemed to make Hiro duck his head even lower than before. Now Su frowned, was he skipping school too?

"Thanks for the food, we'll come again." Kitsune waved as she pulled Su out of the café.

"Thank you!" Cass called back.

When the café was out of sight, Kitsune dropped her hand and looked at Su. "What were y'all thinking, scaring the kid like that?"

Su tilted her head.

Kitsune sighed. "Couldn't you tell how uncomfortable he was getting, Su?"

"You mean Hiro?"

"Yes – now  _that_  name can't be some coincidence." Kitsune muttered the second part to herself, stroking her chin, a common sight Su saw whenever the young woman was dealing with a story on her laptop. "Hiro…I gotta look up that name when we get back to the inn, it just sounds like a weird name to give a kid."

"You think Hiro's going to be a…" Su giggled before getting the word out, "a  _hero_?"

Kitsune blinked, remembering that Su was with her and looked at her with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry 'bout that, Su, Naru's paranoia and my writing skills are getting a little jumbled. It's just a thought I had."

"I think it would be cool if he was a hero." Su smiled. "Maybe he's already crimefighting."

Kitsune looked a little nervous. "Um…no offense, Su…that's not how it works in the real world. I think that's the last thing on that kid's mind."

Su considered this and opened up the pink box sitting on top of its companion. Her eyes widened at the sight; large cookies of every color, muffins, sticky-looking treats that looked like the mochi that Haruka loved dearly, and several others that she couldn't identify.

"I thought you had enough at the café." Kitsune said warningly.

"I did." Su agreed. "I just wanted to see what she put in this box. I don't even recognize some of them."

"Maybe Naru and Haruka can help us when we get back." Kitsune suggested.

"Oh yeah, let's get some to Haruka first before we forget." Su grabbed ahold of Kitsune's free hand and started running, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Su alone is the reason I was able to make this chapter longer than I expected. She was fun to write. A shame she isn't the most reliable narrator at times. Some of the classes Hiro mentioned were actually taken from real course names online. Please review, I really want your feedback.
> 
> In the writing world, I will see you!


	8. Announcement

**Author's Note:** No update, guys, sorry. Just trying to get a feel about what you're all thinking. I know I promised an update sometime in May and it has been five months since the due date. My muse for this story is drained dry with the angle I am going for. So, would you all like me to try again under a different title and without the chapters I set up?

I think starting this story over would mean going fresh and not relying on stuff that feels forced. What do you all think? I am on board for deleting this story because I am unable to write it with how many corners I am putting myself into.


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